Devastation: Again and Again and Again
by Freckled Angel 11
Summary: Peter is back. The timeline is reset and the damage by Thanos is undone. But is it really that easy? What is the cost of the Avenger's time travel? What lasting effects will be felt in the present timeline? Will Peter's life go back to normal? Or will the effects of a broken timeline break Peter for good? Tony/Peter Father/Son relationship. Full Summary inside. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I haven't finished my other story, but this idea took over. Don't worry, I will finish my other story (I am Spider-Man) as well. **

**SPOILER WARNING for Infinity War**

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**Still here? okay... you were warned. **

**This story explores Tony and Peter's relationship upon his return after Thanos' snap. This story will be set in the same universe as my first story, "To Tell the Truth." You can read this one without reading it, but it will make more sense if you read that one first as I will be making references back to that one. This story takes on the possible time travel aspect of Endgame as a solution to the Snap. I won't be spending too much time with that since the science boggles my mind, so this focuses more on how time travel could have left some scars in the present. What might be side effects of undoing the snap? And what happens when devastating events in Peter's life feel like one of those side effects? How will Tony handle it when the kid he cares about lashes out at him? **

**Chapter one is meant to be a bit of a prologue. You'll get bits and pieces in this chapter that will become more clear and easier to understand in future chapters. Please read and review. I love to hear your thoughts. **

_Italics are memories and thoughts_

Chapter 1: From Dust to Broken Pieces

_"The loss was too much. It was devastating," Tony told him. "Half of all living creatures…. Gone. We did the only thing that we could. We went back and started over… reset the timeline. It's over and now we can finally get back to living our lives."_

These were the words that Tony used to help Peter understand the events that had unfolded. It was just too bad that not everyone would get their old lives back.

_Peter had just arrived back to school from a field trip. Ned was talking to him about their day, rambling on and on about how he wished there had been some radioactive creature to turn him into an Avenger. _

_"It would be so cool, Peter!" Ned said. "We would both be superheroes thanks to school field trips and genetic mutation! How cool would it be if I had been bitten by a bat?"_

_Peter shook his head, "Dude! No! That's just… no! That's not okay."_

_"Why?" Ned asked, "I'd be Batm…"_

_Peter cut him off, "Nope! Don't even say it! That's not allowed here."_

_"Huh? What do you mean?" Ned asked._

_Peter coughed, trying to hide a laugh, "It's just not."_

_The two friends laughed and made their way over to where families were waiting to take kids home. Peter was looking through the crowd of parents for May. When he saw her, he was surprised to see that she wasn't alone. May didn't see him coming. She was too engrossed in what looked like a serious conversation with the man next to her. If Peter wasn't mistaken, she also looked a little pale. _

_Something was… off._

_"Why is Mr. Stark here?" Ned asked Peter. _

_Peter didn't answer his friend. Instead, he just moved forward towards the two adults, wanting to know what the serious conversation was about. As he got closer, Tony turned to look at him… stopping Peter in his tracks._

_The look in his mentor's eyes was… different. Something about the man had definitely changed. He looked worn out and run down, and there was a haunted look in his eyes. However, when he locked eyes with Peter, his eyes lit up. He looked beyond relieved. He took deliberate steps towards him, and his eyes searched Peter up and down. It was as if his father-figure was trying to make sure that he was in one piece. Peter frowned in confusion. He had just texted the man that morning. What could have him so rattled? _

_Tony put a hand on each of his shoulders and studied his face, "Peter?" he asked. Tony brought a hand to the young man's head, brushing back some curls. "You're alright," he stated, eyes filling with tears. Before Peter could question him, Tony pulled Peter in for a hug and squeezed him tightly. "You're really alright… you're alright… this time you're alright." _

_Peter couldn't help but to melt into the embrace. He also felt as though Tony really needed the hug. Peter wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but he finally opened his eyes and looked for his aunt. Tony continued to hold him tightly, and Peter could tell the man was crying. It was so out of character for the man to display such public affection. There was no doubt that the people around them would be confused as to why Tony Stark was giving his intern a heartfelt hug. When Peter caught sight of May, he saw that she looked shocked and uncertain. To onlookers, it might seem like she was feeling this way because a billionaire was embracing her kid. However, Peter knew that there was something else behind the look on her face. It had something to do with whatever conversation she had with Tony. _

Peter sighed at the memory. He scrubbed his hands over his face, fighting with the emotions swirling inside of him.

He remembered Tony taking Aunt May and him back to the compound. He was shocked to find many of the original Avengers there, all except Steve Rogers. The gathering of heroes was incredible. T'Challa and Shuri were there, and he also recognized Ant-Man. Scott then introduced Wasp. He also met Dr. Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill that day. Nick Fury had also helped the team learn more about another new hero in the room, Carol Danvers… who also went by the name of Captain Marvel. Under other circumstances, it would have been so exciting to see them all. However, it was obvious that they had gathered for a rather serious discussion.

They sat him down then. They let Aunt May stay and be a part of the conversation, too.

Since getting off the school bus, so much had felt… wrong. And after Tony and many of the original Avengers filled them in on the events, he knew why.

Three years.

Thanos had attacked and won.

Half of all living beings in the universe died.

The remaining Avengers, with the help of information from Ant-Man and Captain Marvel, traveled through TIME to fix it.

And it had taken them THREE YEARS.

Peter had been lost. T'Challa, Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Wanda, Vision, Dr. Strange, most of the Guardians… all gone… all lost to wind.

And the remaining Avengers gave all they had to get them back… especially Steve Rogers.

A tear slipped down Peter's cheek as he recalled hearing about Steve's sacrifice. They had traveled back in time to recover the Infinity Stones before Thanos could get them. And Steve… he traded his life to get the Soul Stone to the team.

As a result, they defeated Thanos and reset the timeline.

It should have ended there, right? How did the fairy tales end? And they all lived happily ever after?

FALSE. Happily ever after was not reality.

Peter shook his head at the thought. How could they have been so foolish? They must have known there would be consequences to resetting the timeline. Losing Steve Rogers was only the beginning.

More tears slipped down Peter's cheek as he thought aloud. "Saved my life," he scoffed. "Yeah right… start over and live my life again? What life? This isn't the life I wanted!" Peter picked up a picture from his nightstand. It was a picture of him and Tony. He looked at it for a moment, but then threw the picture across the room. It shattered into pieces as it hit the far wall.

Peter was in a rage. Everything felt WRONG! He didn't want this life!

How much of the _wrong_ in his life was the result of the reset timeline? Was the universe punishing him for being alive by making this life miserable? Did the universe see justice in May being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer? Was it fair that it took her so quickly?

Was he supposed to be thankful that he was living at the compound now? It didn't really feel like living.

Peter picked up another picture of him and Tony, throwing it across the room to shatter onto the floor with the other one.

A knock could be heard at his door. "Peter?" Tony called. "Kid? You okay?" Peter walked towards the door, but he didn't speak. He just stared at the door as he noticed the knob jiggle as Tony tried to get it open. "Come on, kid. Please unlock the door," Tony called.

Peter clenched his hands into fists. He could feel the anger surging through him, and some part of his brain reminded him that anger was the second stage of grief. Some part of him knew that his emotions were the result of his anguish at the loss of May. He was still dressed in the black suit from her funeral. He didn't stay for gathering afterwards. He couldn't stay. He needed to be alone.

Tony jiggled the knob again, "Please… Pete, let me help."

Anger surged again, and Peter picked up a chair and threw it down hard. It shattered easily as a result of Peter's strength. Peter's breathing was fast and his heart pounded as he fought through the tears and pain. "LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Peter's voice cracked as he yelled at the man on the other side of the door. "YOU CAN'T HELP! THIS IS YOUR DAMN FAULT, TONY! THIS. IS. ALL. YOUR. FAULT!" Peter poured as much venom as possible into the words as he yelled at the top of his lungs. He finally crumpled to the ground, crying harder.

He thought he had convinced the Iron Man to leave him alone, but there was more movement as his door was unlocked and carefully pushed open.

Peter kept his eyes down as the door was opened. He didn't want to look at the man. He didn't want to see the man who he believed to be responsible for causing so much disruption in his universe.

Tony stood in the doorway for a long time. It seemed like he didn't know whether to move towards Peter or away from him, so he just stayed rooted to that spot.

Peter didn't like how he stood there. His anger was so intense that he felt like Tony was violating his privacy by standing there and observing his grief. He reached over and picked up a piece of his broken chair. He hurled it at Tony's head with as much force as he could muster, "Fuck off, Tony!"

After throwing the piece of broken furniture, Peter finally looked at the other man. Tony had barely managed to move out of the way of the broken furniture before looking back at Peter. And Peter was really wishing that he hadn't looked up. The broken look on Tony's face was enough to subdue the fiery rage, which was quickly replaced by a feeling of guilt. But he had come too far and he would not apologize… not yet. Instead he lowered his voice into a broken whisper, "Just… please… go away. You've done enough."

Tony blinked at Peter's words. And Peter didn't fail to notice the tear that trickled down Tony's cheek. "I never…" Tony started, his voice breaking. "… This wasn't supposed to happen, kid. God… I am so sorry." Tony turned to leave, but stopped. He glanced back over his shoulder, but his eyes didn't meet Peter's this time. "It should have been me, kid. I wish to God that it had been me."

Peter swallowed hard as he watched Tony leave his doorway. The guilt intensified at Tony's words.

_"No," _Peter thought, _"It was meant to be me. Now I'm alive, and the people I love are suffering for it!" _Peter's stomach twisted with a familiar discomfort as he thought, _"You should have just left me in the dust!"_

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**A/N: Ouch! I'm just going to hide over here with the tissues. What happened to our boys? Can they fix their relationship before it's too late? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just a reminder that this story is set in the same universe as my story, "To Tell the Truth." It is a different universe, however, from my story "I am Spider-Man." **

**In this story, you will see some hint of what I think could happen in Endgame. However, I don't go into detail because time travel boggles my mind. **

**You are about to see a VERY ANGRY super teen. Trigger warning for grief and death as a result of cancer. **

**Also, these characters are still the property of Marvel.**

**Enjoy... and please leave me a review! :)**

Chapter 2: Uncontrollable Anger

**_6 Months Earlier_**

_Peter and May entered his room in the compound and sat down. Peter was struggling to process everything. _

_Billions upon billions of life forms had disappeared. He, Peter Parker, had disappeared. The remaining Avengers reunited. Time travel. Resetting the timeline. Three Years. Steve was gone._

_All of this swirled in Peter's head, and he rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. _

_"Peter? Honey… what can I do?" May asked. _

_Peter smiled. May knew better than to ask if he was alright. She already knew the answer. He figured she was most likely far from being alright herself. He looked up at his aunt. She looked tired and pale. He thought about how sick she was when he had been taken to the RAFT by Ross. He really hoped she wasn't getting sick again. _

_"Do you remember any of it?" Peter asked her finally. "Tony said that you had survived. Do you remember anything?"_

_May shook her head, "I woke up this morning. Burnt your breakfast toast and sent you on your way to school for your field trip." She shrugged her shoulders and continued, "I worked my shift before heading over to the school to pick you up. I got there early and ran into Tony." May coughed a little, and then cleared her throat, "I've never seen him like that. I thought he looked bad when Ross had you. This was…" May stopped and had a far away look in her eyes. It was like she was searching the distance to find the right words. "… He looked so uncertain… maybe even scared." She looked back at Peter, "I think he was afraid you weren't going to get off that bus. Think about it, Peter. He remembers losing you. All the… time travelers… is that what I call them?"_

_Peter shrugged. He didn't say anything, and instead waited for her to continue. _

_"It seems like all the time traveling Avengers remember the other… timeline… or whatever. The rest of us… we just remember today. If I weren't your aunt, I would probably be blissfully unaware that anything even happened… just like the rest of the world." May leaned back in her chair and let out a breath. _

_Peter frowned, "I'm sorry, Aunt May."_

_Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she laughed a little, "For what? What could you possibly be sorry about?"_

_"If it weren't for me, you WOULD be blissfully unaware. You could live a happy life not knowing that a psychotic alien creature had the power to wipe out half of everything with a snap of his fingers!" His words were meant to be sarcastic, but he realized he was actually quite serious. This whole thing was serious. _

_"Yeah, well… that's my fault, too, you know. I did tell you and Tony not to lie to me about anything," May admitted. _

_"Do you wish we would have lied to you about this?" Peter asked, being completely serious. _

_May looked up at him and met his eyes, "Absolutely not."_

_"Really?" Peter asked, feeling completely surprised. _

_"I always thought Tony would move heaven and hell to look after you, but now I KNOW it," May said, a smile playing on her lips. _

_Peter blushed a little, "It wasn't just for me, May."_

_She shrugged and leaned forward, "No. But you were a big part of his motivation. He said he still had Pepper and Happy. Rhodes was alive, too. So, I think it was you that helped him keep fighting."_

_Peter thought about her words for a moment. It seemed like every Avenger that was left was motivated to keep going for someone that they lost. Clint Barton had lost his whole family. Natasha was close to them, too. She fought for them and her other lost friends. Steve had lost Bucky and many other members of the team for whom he felt responsible. They were all fighting and motivated for their own reasons. Peter sighed, "Do you think Bucky is okay?"_

_"Steve's friend?" May asked, looking thoughtful. "I don't know. Does he know anyone else?"_

_"I mean… he spent time in Wakanda. He likes Shuri and T'Challa well enough, but…" Peter trailed off, unable to finish. _

_"… but he lost his best friend." May finished for him. _

_Peter couldn't imagine. Ned was his best friend, and he would be sad enough if anything happened to him. However, Steve and Bucky had been through so much more together, and survived through so much together. "He looked kinda lost," Peter admitted, thinking back to when they were all gathered together. "Although, he could've just been confused as to why Mr. Stark wasn't trying to kill him," he attempted to joke, but May looked mortified. _

_She shook her head and leaned back heavily in her chair, "These are crazy times that we live in, Peter. Aliens… reformed killer super soldiers… a glowing super-woman…"_

_Peter cut in, "Who glows?"_

_"Thor said Carol Danvers 'emits a radiant energy when she charges her enemies,'" May lowered her voice for the last part, attempting to mimic Thor's booming voice. _

_Peter couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, "You talked to Thor?" His voice held a teasing tone. _

_May scowled at him as she attempted to defend herself, "If you're going to hear about how the world nearly ended, you're going to want to talk to the God of Thunder about it!" _

_Peter laughed a little and shook his head at her. He looked at the clock on the wall and realized that it was getting late. The debrief was long. He was thankful that Tony had food brought into the room so that they could eat. Although, there was a part of Peter that realized Tony probably remembered that Peter needed food for his fast metabolism. The man really was focused on Peter's needs. Peter even caught Tony staring at him a few times, likely worried that he might somehow disappear again. An uncomfortable feeling was still nestled deep within his core. Peter hadn't felt settled since he got back to school. Everything felt the same… and yet somehow very different. He supposed it had a lot to with what he learned about Thanos. So much had changed in such a short amount of time. The situation with Ross had only been about 4 months ago. For him, anyway. He realized time must feel so strange for the others. _

_Peter looked over at May as she was struggling to keep her eyes open. With all of the Avengers back together, all of the rooms in the compound were full. May would be staying with him in his suite. Fortunately, Tony had the piece of mind to put a nice futon in the sitting area. _

_"Hey, May… how about I help you get into bed?" Peter offered. "I'll sleep out here tonight."_

_"Hmm?" May asked, tiredly. "Oh… no, honey. I can sleep out here."_

_Peter shook his head. "There's no discussion here. I want you to sleep well." He stood up and moved towards his aunt, struck once again with how pale she looked. He took hold of her elbow to help her stand. As she stood, she let out another cough. _

_"Ahem… mmm… just let me get cleaned up a little. I'm a big girl, Peter." She gave him a cheeky smile. "I can put myself to bed." Peter looked a bit crestfallen at her remark. She quickly wrapped him in a hug and kissed his cheek. "I appreciate your concern, Peter. I love you for it… really, I do. But I want you to take care of yourself a little more." Peter nodded. "Good… you get that futon ready and I'll come and say goodnight when I'm finished getting cleaned up a bit."_

_Again, Peter nodded. "Oh wait… here." He walked over to dresser and pulled some clothes from the bottom drawer. "These are yours. Pepper moved them over from your old room." The room that now occupied James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. _

_"Great," May said, taking the clothes. "I'll have to thank her in the morning."_

_With that, May walked over to the bathroom that connected to Peter's room to get ready. Peter quickly turned to his futon and prepared it for sleep. He wasn't worried about putting any sheets on it. Instead, he just grabbed some pillows and blankets from the bedroom. _

_Soon, May walked out to bid him goodnight. Peter turned to look at her and froze. With her makeup washed off her face, Peter was again filled with concern. "May?" Peter asked. "Are you feeling alright?"_

_She waved a hand, trying to dismiss his concern. "Of course. It was just a crazy day." She walked over and kissed Peter's cheek once again. "Try to get some sleep, okay? I think Tony said he wanted you to work with him and Dr. Banner in the lab tomorrow morning." She shrugged. "I guess we might as well stay the weekend." _

_Peter smiled and nodded. He watched as his aunt moved into the back bedroom and closed the door. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was still terribly wrong. He shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the feeling and moved towards his futon. He was just about to pull his blanket over his shoulder and sink into his pillow when there was a soft knock at his door. _

_Peter grumbled a little, but went over to answer it. "Who is it?" He asked quietly. _

_"The Ghost of Christmas Present," Tony answered quietly. "Come out and know me better, man!"_

_Peter rolled his eyes and quietly opened the door, "It's 'come in and know me better, man.' Don't you know your Dickens?" Peter teased. _

_"What in the Dickens are you talking about?" Tony joked. "Why would I say, 'come in' when I am technically out?" Tony used his hands to indicate his position in the hallway. _

_Peter shook his head, stepped into the hallway, and quietly shut the door. Once he was in the hallway with Tony, he said, "You know… Scrooge wasn't really time traveling. He was able to visit his past and future, but he couldn't interact with anyone or change anything. He could only make better decisions to change the present."_

_Tony shrugged, "Tom- a- to, Tom- ah- to. He still had a better future… or so we're led to believe." _

_The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. _

_Peter shuffled a little, starting to feel uncomfortable. "Did you… need something?" he asked. _

_Tony nodded and cleared his throat a little. "Yeah…" with that he lifted up his hands and placed them on Peter's shoulders. _

_Peter didn't say anything. He just let Tony grasp his shoulders and rub his arms a little. It should have seemed strange, but Peter knew the man needed to feel that he was solid. He needed to know that Peter was really there. They finally met each other's eyes. The sight of Tony's glistening eyes made Peter fight back tears of his own. _

_"I'm okay, Mr. Stark. I'm here," Peter told him. _

_Finally, Tony pulled him in for a hug. Peter couldn't help but to flashback to the first time he thought Tony was giving him a hug after Germany. So much had changed since then. Perhaps more than Peter even knew. _

_The hug didn't last too long before Tony released him to step back and look at him again, leaving his left hand on Peter's shoulder. He obviously still wanted some contact. He cleared his throat and said, "The last time I held you… I mean… before…" _

_There was a faraway look in Tony's eyes, and Peter knew that he was remembering things. He was looking at Peter, but his eyes were unfocused. "You… you just… slipped away… right out from underneath my fingers," he said._

_Peter's eyes widened at that. He was more than a little freaked out by the thought, and the bad feeling in his gut just grew more intense. "I'm sorry," he told Tony._

_Tony focused back on Peter's face, seeming to notice his discomfort. He shook his head, "Shit… no! I… I didn't… you don't have anything to apologize for, kid. We don't have to worry about it anymore. We can go back to living our lives again."_

_Peter shook his head a little, "It's hard not to worry a little. It's all so strange. I just can't seem to get past this weird feeling… like everything's wrong somehow."_

_"No!" Tony insisted. "No… everything is RIGHT this time, Pete. You'll see… everything is going to be alright." Tony clapped his hand on Peter's shoulder once more before placing both hands into his pockets. It was as if Tony needed to stuff his hands in there to stop himself from poking and prodding Peter any further. Although, Peter really didn't mind the contact. _

_"I hope you're right," Peter told him._

_Tony removed the hands from his pockets to lift them into the air, "Of course I'm right. Look who you're talking to!" _

_Peter chuckled a little, noticing that Tony's face beamed at the sound of it. _

_"Listen…" Tony said. "There's something else I came to talk to you about. Something I didn't want to get into during the debrief. I felt like you should know before the rest of the team."_

_Peter looked worried and asked, "Is everything okay?"_

_Tony again lifted a hand to Peter's shoulder and gave it a reassuring pat, "Yeah, yeah… it's fine. I just…" he sighed, "… I felt like you deserved to know about my retirement first."_

_Peter furrowed his brows in confusion, "Retirement? Like from Stark Industries? Or…?_

_Tony nodded his head from side to side a little, "Or… yeah. I'm hanging up the nanobots and the armor, kid."_

_This time Peter's eyebrows shot up nearly to his hairline, "What? Why?" He said it louder than he meant to say it. _

_Tony shushed him a little and looked down the hallway to make sure the other doors stayed closed. "I promised Pepper, kid. She remembers things from… before? Or… later? You know what I mean, right? She just… she remembers because she was a part of it. And we made a deal that once everything was set back that we would live a normal life. Well… something closer to normal, anyway."_

_That was a lot to take in. "Wait… Pepper was a part of it?" Peter asked, genuinely curious. _

_Tony smiled. "She is an absolute babe in a suit of armor, kid. Believe me."_

_Peter made a face, "Ugh… Tony! She's like a mom to me! Don't… just don't! Gross!" Peter shook his head, "So she fought?"_

_Tony nodded, "She called herself RESCUE. Isn't it adorable? She did rescue me. Saved me from myself once Thor helped me get back to Earth."_

_Peter smiled at the thought. No one could get through to Tony Stark quite like Pepper Potts. It made sense that she would fight. Knowing Pepper, she probably put on the armor just to keep a closer eye on the man and make sure he didn't put himself unnecessarily into harms way. "That's awesome," Peter commented. _

_"Damn right it was awesome," Tony confirmed. "But a promise is a promise, Pete. You know?"_

_"Of course, yeah… it makes sense. I just wish I could have had more time to fight by your side," Peter told him._

_A haunted look made its way onto the older man's face, and Peter realized that perhaps that had fought together after all. Clearly, it didn't end well. _

_Tony quickly shook away whatever thought had entered his head and looked at Peter, "I'm not going to leave the team hanging. I'm just going to be on the sidelines… like a coach… or a glorified equipment manager."_

_Peter gave the other man a look, "Equipment manager?"_

_"Best damn equipment in the universe, Pete," Tony confirmed. _

_Peter smirked and raised an eyebrow, "Shuri might have something to say about that."_

_Tony feigned hurt and raised a hand to his chest, "You wound me. Princess Buttercup has nothing on me!"_

_"She is nothing like Princess Buttercup," Peter teased. "What's up with your references lately?"_

_"I'm a little rusty, I guess," Tony offered a smile, a little sadness seeping through. "Good thing I have you around to help me get back on track."_

_This time it was Peter that lifted his hand to Tony's shoulder. "I'm happy to get you back on track, old man." His smile grew wider, "Or do I call you coach now?"_

_Tony playfully swatted the hand off his shoulder, but his eyes were affectionate. "Hey! That's Iron Coach to you, Spider-Kid! You can take the Iron Man out of the suit, but I'm still made of Iron!"_

_Peter shook his head a little, "I don't know. You seem pretty soft to me." It should have been a playful insult, but between the two of them it was a compliment. It was Peter's way of letting the other man know that he was aware of the soft spot the man had just for him. _

_Tony understood Peter's words, smiling at him. "Yeah, well… let's keep that between us, okay? I can't let these other jerks know their coach is a softy! I will rule the Avengers with an Iron fist!" Tony raised his hand into a fist for emphasis. "Maybe even literally. I'm not above putting on an old gauntlet to whip these lazy asses into shape!" _

_Peter chuckled again, "I would expect nothing less." Peter was about to turn back to his room when Tony spoke again. _

_"Want to know another secret?" Tony asked, a twinkle in his eyes._

_"Sure," Peter said. _

_"The other reason I agreed to retire is…" His eyes sparkled more as a smile appeared on his face, "… Pep and I are going to start a family." His words were barely above a whisper. Before Peter could say anything else, Tony turned on his heals and began to leave. _

_"Wait…" Peter called quietly to him. "Do you mean… like already? Or soon? Mr. Stark!"_

_The man just looked over his shoulder and threw a wave in Peter's direction, "G'Night, Pete. See you in the morning!" _

_Peter shook his head at the man again. Leave it to Tony to tell a secret with very few details and keep him in suspense. Peter shrugged, figuring he could ask more about it the next day. _

_He quietly stepped back into the suite and made his way over to his futon. As he settled, he noticed some of his worry had slipped away after talking to his mentor. He listened carefully for May's breathing, trying to make sure that she had fallen asleep. He was relieved to hear her breathing deeply in the next room. He frowned a little at the sound, though. He felt like something about her breathing seemed odd._

_He turned to his side and nestled his head into his pillow. He decided he'd ask someone in the med bay to check her out in the morning. _

_Surely, things would be much better in the morning._

**PRESENT**

Peter was sitting on the very same futon in his room now. Things had certainly not been better in the morning. Sure… they started out just fine. As a matter of fact, he remembered every detail of that day.

He remembered the waffles, eggs, and bacon in the morning. He remembered the camaraderie with the other Avengers as they gathered in the kitchen together. He remembered sitting next to Bucky, trying to bring some comfort to the man who had saved his life months before. He recalled how well the man masked his feelings, but he knew he was mourning the loss of his best friend. They had all been mourning, really. Yet Peter knew it was likely to hit Bucky the hardest.

He remembered how they talked about doing something to honor Steve's memory. They wanted to find a way to let the world know that Captain America was gone. They were hoping that one day the world could learn about his sacrifice and remember him as a hero… not a war criminal.

This had led to conversation about why the time travelers hadn't stopped the civil war between the Avengers in the first place. The responses had been serious. They had explained to need to careful about to where… or to when they traveled.

Rhodes had assured them that the Accords weren't going to be an issue anymore. There was something said about Ross being on his way out and removed from the picture.

But then May had come back in. He had sent her down to see Dr. Cho right away. He knew by the look on her face that something wasn't right. He remembered asking her about it. He had asked if she had the flu again. She had shaken her head and assured him that it wasn't the flu before heading back to the room.

He didn't follow her. To this day, he wasn't sure why he didn't go to talk to her more about it right away. Instead he had shrugged it off. He let himself feel relieved that it wasn't the flu. He supposed some part of him knew. He had avoided the inevitable. He avoided the part where he would learn that she was an entirely different and entirely worse kind of sick.

He focused on the Avengers more that weekend. He was trying to feel like part of the team. May had encouraged him to do so. He now realized that she had been keeping him at a distance. She didn't want him to know until she was ready to talk about it.

It took her 36 hours to tell him. She sat him down with Tony by her side. She had told Tony first. While part of him understood her reason, there was another part that felt like he should have been the first to know. She had asked Tony for support, not wanting to tell Peter alone.

**_6 Months Earlier_**

_"Peter," May said. "Baby… everything will be alright."_

_He was in shock. Stage 4 cancer? How the hell did this happen? He shook his head and moved a hand to rest on top of May's hand, "I should be telling you that everything will be alright."_

_"I talked to Helen," Tony spoke up. "We'll get her the best treatments money can buy."_

_May frowned, "Helen said the cancer was all over. I appreciate it, Tony but…" She looked at Peter and seemed to think differently about her words upon seeing the look on her nephew's face. "… Well, we can try."_

_"How are you so calm?" Peter asked her, surprised by how she seemed to be accepting things so easily. _

_May shook her head, "I don't know. It's strange… I guess… I just don't feel afraid. No matter what, Peter. Things will be alright." She had squeezed his hand. _

_"No matter what?" He asked. "May… I can't…" Peter's voice broke a little, "I can't lose you! You're the only family I have left!"_

_"I talked to Tony, Peter. No matter what happens, I know you'll be looked after. You won't be alone," she told him._

_"Why are we talking about this like it's already over? Of course I won't be alone because we're going to get you better, May!" Peter argued. He looked over at Tony, feeling somehow betrayed by the man for reasons he couldn't understand. _

_"Pete…" Tony began. _

_"No!" Peter cut him off. "Don't! This is ridiculous! You were fine, May. Weren't you?" He looked at Tony. "This is because of the time travel! You did something! That has to be it!"_

_May shook her head, "Peter… we don't know that. I haven't really been feeling that well."_

_"I don't remember that! I only remember the flu all those months!" He looked at Tony again, "If this has been going on, why didn't they find it when she was here before? Shouldn't they have seen it if she had it before the timeline changed?"_

_Tony looked horrified, like he was contemplating the possibility of it all actually being the result of the timeline being reset. "I… I don't… I just don't know, Pete. They weren't looking for cancer," he told him. _

_"You don't know? Then who does know? Someone must have answers! This isn't right," his head fell to his hands and his voice lowered to a whisper. "None of this should be right!"_

_And he cried. May cried. Even Tony cried. _

_The broken timeline just had to be the source of his broken heart. It just had to be. _

**PRESENT**

Peter recalled staying at the compound that week, and he didn't go to school. Dr. Cho helped to figure out how to connect May to the best doctors. Tony would pay for her to get the best care.

6 months later and it was all over. May was gone. This time, it was May who disappeared. And she wouldn't be coming back. She signed papers before she died, making Tony and Pepper his legal guardians.

Peter looked around his room. There was still broken furniture on the floor. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there. He didn't even bother to look at the time when he asked, "FRIDAY? Where's Mr. Stark?" The question was full of furious determination.

"Mr. Stark could not sleep," FRIDAY answered. "He is currently working in the lab. Would you like me to notify him that you are looking for him?"

"No." Peter said simply, saying nothing further to the AI. He made his way to the elevator. Furiously pushing buttons that would take him to the lab.

He was barely thinking about what he wanted to say and do. His anger was in control, and he let the fury have him. He preferred the anger over the depths of sadness. He entered the lab to find Tony working on a bow for Clint. His red-rimmed eyes looked up at him as soon as he entered.

* * *

Tony felt completely numb. He couldn't bring himself to feel anything anymore. The past 6 months were unbearable. The first few hours in which he had Peter back were glorious. The kid had still looked at him as if he were the coolest man in the world.

However, after May's diagnosis, things changed quickly. Peter grew more distant every day. He was in complete denial about May's prognosis. And, for whatever reason, Peter took her declining health out on Tony. He knew now that it was because he blamed the reset timeline for May's condition. But even that felt unfair! Tony wasn't the only one involved in the mission to undo the snap.

Peter was mostly fine with the other Avengers, especially Barnes. The two even seemed to be getting closer. Some part of Tony wondered if Peter did that out of spite. Tony was willing to let Barnes in the building. He was willing to let him be part of the team. He owed at least that much to Steve. However, he did not want to be friends with the man. And he wasn't thrilled to see him get so close to Peter… his kid. The man may not have intentionally killed Tony's parents. Hydra was the driving force behind that action. But the face was the same, and it was hard to see the man so close to Peter. He had nightmares about the man bashing in Peter's head and slamming it down on the steering wheel of the kid's stupid Toyota.

Then… there was the fighting. Today had been the worst. Tony knew the funeral would be hard for Peter. The finality of May's death was real for Peter now. He had lived in denial long enough, and the anger was explosive… especially when combined with Peter's strength. He needed to get through to Peter before he hurt someone… or worse… before he hurt himself.

Tony couldn't deny that Peter's words hurt. The pain was more intense than the pain he had felt when Thanos stabbed him in the side. Perhaps because this stabbed him right in the heart. He felt like he was losing Peter all over again.

Except this time, he was losing him slowly. Was this the universe getting revenge? Instead of losing him suddenly, was he going to have to watch him slip out of his life in the slowest and most painful way possible?

Tony rubbed his tired eyes. He had tried to go upstairs and sleep. Pepper had done her best to sooth him. It worked at first. He slept for about an hour before a nightmare woke him. It was Peter dusting away. But this time his words were, "Just let me go, sir. Please… just let me go!"

Tony shuddered at the memory of the nightmare. He left Pepper sleeping soundly and was now working in the lab. He had started working on Peter's gear, but then found that to be too painful after his nightmare. Instead, he picked up the new bow for Clint and began making adjustments.

After a few hours, he heard footsteps in the hallway. He didn't look up right away, though. He figured Pepper was looking to drag him back to bed. However, he was surprised to find someone else in the doorway to lab.

Peter was standing there looking disheveled. He was still wearing the clothes from May's funeral and looked like he hadn't slept at all. "Peter?" Tony asked. "Shit, kid. It's 3:30 in the morning. I was hoping you might be able to sleep."

Tony's blood ran cold when he saw the furious look on Peter's face and watched the young man clench his fists and step towards him. For the first time in his life, Tony Stark was afraid of Peter Parker. One punch from the kid might actually kill him. And Peter would never forgive himself for that.

Tony stood up and put the bow down. He put up his hands in surrender, "Woah… easy there, Pete." He stepped around the table, trying to keep it between himself the furious super-powered teenager in front of him. He tried to keep the conversation light by saying, "You don't have to sleep. I'm not trying to give you a bedtime, I swear. I'm just worried about…"

He didn't have time to finish that sentence. Peter actually used one hand to force the heavy lab table out of the way. _"Oh shit," _Tony thought. Peter surged forward, grabbing Tony by the shirt and throwing him up against the wall.

The air was immediately knocked out of him, and he was pretty sure there might be some bruised ribs. Tony groaned and looked at Peter's furious face. It was Peter, but yet it seemed nothing like him. _"Hmm… This must be what it means to be blinded by grief," _Tony thought. "Kid…" he groaned out, trying to break through to him.

Peter shoved a little harder and demanded, "Tell me how it works!"

Tony fought past the spots that were dotting his vision. This wasn't Peter. Peter would never hurt him. The kid didn't realize just how his strength was hurting him. At least Tony hoped he didn't. Tony should have tried to appeal to the softer side of Peter. He should have been honest about how much Peter was hurting him. But he was Tony Stark, and his mouth liked to get in the way. "How what works? Legolas' bow over there? I can show you, but I think it might have broken when you tossed the…"

Peter pushed harder and Tony was pretty sure he felt the drywall behind him shift and crack under the pressure. "Tell me how the time travel works! I want to use it! It's the only way to fix this! I HAVE TO FIX THIS!" Peter yelled.

Tony couldn't breathe. And he was really freaked out that Peter could actually kill him. He loved the kid too much to let that happen. He should have been more worried about himself, but Peter came first. Peter would always come first. He couldn't blame the kid for this. Tony knew what grief could do to a man. He had been there himself. First with his parents and then when he lost Peter for 3 years. "Kid… this isn't you… ugh… 'ou're hurt'n me… please… Sto…"

"WHAT THE HELL? PETER BENJAMIN PARKER... YOU PUT MY HUSBAND DOWN RIGHT NOW, YOUNG MAN! SO HELP ME, I WILL WHIP YOU INTO NEXT WEEK IF YOU DON'T CUT IT OUT THIS INSTANT!" A voice yelled.

The pressure on Tony released and he immediately shrank to floor and pulled his arms and legs in to protect himself from any further attack. He coughed a bit and looked in the direction from which the voice had come.

Pepper was standing in the doorway, looking somehow even more angry than Peter. They had finally married in a civil ceremony about a month after the return of the others. He loved this woman immensely. She held the same fury in this moment that she had whenever she wore her RESCUE armor. She certainly timed this rescue well. He pride over Pepper, however, quickly shifted to fear as he looked towards the little bulge in her belly. He was afraid to have Pepper anywhere near Peter when he was like this.

Tony immediately turned towards the teenager. What he saw quickly removed any fear he had for Pepper. Instead of angry, Peter looked horrified. Clearly, Pepper had an impact on the kid.

"What the HELL are you doing, Peter?" Pepper demanded.

Peter put his head down, looking from his hands to Tony. It was like he was finally realizing what he had done. "Uh… I… I… I don't know," he answered.

Pepper took a few steps forward and waved her hands at the damage and then to Tony. "You don't know?" She shook her head and made her way over to Tony, kneeling beside him.

Tony was Tony, so he said, "Sorry, honey. Did we wake you?" Of course, he couldn't be serious… at least not out loud.

Pepper wasn't going to let him deflect. She was pissed. "Look at this, Peter! He already has bruises! If you wanted to fight, you should have at least given him the chance to make it fair! He had no way to defend himself against you!"

Peter crumbled. He pulled his hands in as if hugging himself and fell to his knees. "I… I… I didn't mean it, P-Pepper. I j-just…"

Pepper was going for the jugular, needing him to realize just how much damage he could have done. "You just WHAT?" Pepper stood up and motioned towards her baby bump, "You thought you might let my kid know what it is like to grow up WITHOUT a father?" She let a tear slide down her cheek, letting her anger be replaced by disappointment. "How could you, Peter? Look at him!"

Tony knew she was asking the poor kid to take stock of the damage to him and not so much the lab. He watched as Peter looked around the room and finally let his eyes settle on him. Tony hated the guilt in the kid's eyes, "I'll be alright. We can figure this out." Tony hated how his voice cracked. He also belatedly realized just how heavily he was breathing in an attempt to catch his breath. Tony saw the moment reality clicked into place for Peter. The boy's eyes were filled with anguish and grief. _"Shit…" _Tony thought.

"Oh God… Pepper… Tony…" Peter's breathing picked up. "I'm sorry!"

Tony watched as the guilt and anguish were once again giving way to anger. But this time the anger was towards himself.

"I shouldn't be here," Peter said suddenly.

Tony expected him to leave through the doorway, or go back to his room. He did not expect Peter to grab web shooters off a nearby lab table and head for the window.

Tony went to stand up, but instantly regretted the decision when he felt the pain in his ribs. "Pete! Wait!"

It was too late. Peter was already out the window.

"Damn it!" Tony groaned, looking over at Pepper. The concern on her face broke his heart a little, "I'm alright, hon. He didn't mean it."

Pepper helped him stand. "God, Tony. What if I hadn't come to look for you?" she asked.

Tony shuddered at the thought. "I don't know, Pep. He needs help and he needs it soon."

Pepper started guiding him towards the door. "Was I too hard on him?" she asked.

"No… he needed to hear it. He has to be careful. Thank god it was only me this time!" Tony said.

Pepper halted their movement, "Only you? Seriously? If he is willing to hurt you…" her voice broke off at the thought.

Tony motioned for them to go forward again. "I know. We need to get through to him before he kills someone…" Tony groaned as they entered the hallway. While he didn't vocalize it, he knew Pepper was thinking the same thing as him.

They would have to get through to him before he seriously hurt himself.

But first... they would need to figure out where he went.

* * *

**A/N: Angry and grieving Peter is so different with Tony when compared to the earlier joking in the hallway.**

**How will they get through to him? And will they be able to do it before he hurts someone? Will they help him before he totally self-destructs? **

**Read on and find out. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Warning... a lot of teenage emotion here. **

**Marvel still owns them. **

* * *

Chapter 3: A Tough Bargain

Peter didn't really know where he was going. He had made it out the window and used his web shooter to attach himself to a tree and lower himself to the ground.

He looked all around. This wasn't the city. It was open space. Too much open space.

He sighed, "I miss Queens. This is ridiculous!" Peter looked back up at the window from which he left. It was still very early in the morning, so Pepper and Tony were the only ones likely to be awake. Peter pondered over his options for a moment, but he ultimately decided he wanted some distance from the compound.

Peter threw his suit coat to the ground, along with the tie that was still loosely hanging from his neck. After rolling up his shirt sleeves and making sure the web shooters were secure, he made his way towards the woods. He knew there was a small town not far on the other side, so he decided it was the best way to go.

Peter entered the tree line and looked around a bit. He always thought it might be a good idea to learn to swing from the trees. The moon was almost full, so it gave him plenty of light to see. He aimed up high, briefly thinking about how he would be like George of the Jungle.

However, he didn't allow himself to think on that for too long. He needed to get going. He had no desire to stick around and face the damage and destruction behind him.

It felt good to swing through the air again. Peter was making good progress. He didn't even care about how the branches were scratching at his face. He felt like he deserved the lashing from them.

He stopped and clung to a thick tree trunk to catch his breath for a moment. Leaning against the tree, he thought, _"Mr. Stark looked scared. I actually scared him… how could I do that? How could he ever forgive me?" _These thoughts were no good. He didn't want to think, so he surged forward again and made his way towards the lights of the small town in the distance.

* * *

Pepper wanted to take Tony to the med bay and wake up the medical staff, but Tony insisted he would be fine until morning. He had no desire to wake anyone up and tell them that he got his ass kicked by his kid. He didn't want people to judge Peter. The kid was hurting, so he thought it would be better to wait and prove that the bruises weren't so bad.

Pepper got him upstairs and sat him on the couch. She wasted no time in checking for broken ribs. Tony winced as she pressed over his ribcage and inspected the visible bruising that was already there.

She sighed, "I don't think any are broken, but they are definitely bruised. Maybe even cracked."

Tony flinched, "Let's go with bruised. Peter will never forgive himself if it's worse than that."

Pepper studied Tony's face, noting the worry lines. "I want to be angry with him, Tony. He shouldn't have used such force with you. He should know that his strength is too much for the average man."

"Average?" Tony whined indignantly.

She rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

Tony nodded, "It's not like him at all. He's in so much pain, Pepper. It's all my…"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Pepper cut in. "You did not give May Parker cancer!"

Tony looked thoughtful, "But what if I did?"

"Don't…"

"How do I know that I didn't, Pepper?" Tony challenged. "What if Peter is right? What if resetting the timeline somehow changed circumstances in a way that May was sick?"

Pepper rubbed a tired hand over her face, "Tony… it's too early in the morning for your self-loathing. You said it yourself… Peter is in pain! He's hurting, and now he's targeting the people around him. He wants them to hurt as much as he does."

Tony nodded. He _was_ literally feeling Peter's pain to some extent. "I need to find him," Tony said, trying to get up.

"No… nope!" Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him in place. "You need to rest!" She put a hand to her belly, "For us…please."

Tony looked towards her belly and then at her face, "Come on, Pep… don't do that! Peter is my kid, too. I made May a promise!"

"I know! And I am worried about him, too. I said I _want _to be mad… but I can't actually be mad at him." She shook her head, "I can't imagine what must be going through his head. He's gone through so much more than any other 16-year-old boy."

"Which is why I need to find him!" Tony insisted.

Pepper shot him a warning look before saying, "You're not the only person in this building who can search for him."

"You're not going!" Tony said, fearing she meant herself.

She gave him a look, "I was actually thinking of waking someone else."

Tony furrowed his brows in confusion. "Who do…" his brows shot up and he gave her an exasperated look, "No! Not happening! We are NOT sending the Manchurian Candidate to look for the kid! No way!"

"Tony… you know he can find him," Pepper insisted. "Bucky and Peter understand each other! Both disappeared with the snap… and both came back only to find out people they loved were or would be gone forever! Sure… Peter's loss came later, but… he knew it was coming. Whether he wanted to admit it or not… he knew."

"So?" Tony argued. "That makes Barnes more qualified to search for him? FRIDAY and I could find him in no time!"

"It's not about how fast he can be found, Tony. It's about how we can convince him to come home. I think he left because he was ashamed of what happened with you. If he saw you coming right now…" Pepper hesitated, hoping her husband would understand. "… he might just try to run further away. I have a good feeling about Bucky's chances." She studied him closely, "Trust me on this, okay?"

Tony sighed, "It should be me. I hate that there's so much distance between us lately. And I DESPISE the fact that Barnes managed to get closer to him."

"He's only pushing you away because he's hurt and confused," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You two will work this out… it might just take a little time."

"Okay…" Tony said. "… But I don't have to like it! FRIDAY! I'm going to need you to give Barnes a wake-up call!"

* * *

Bucky was more than a little surprised to be pulled from his sleep by Tony's AI. Sleeping was a challenge for him, so he was also a little annoyed. He couldn't understand what Stark could need at four o-clock in the morning.

Reluctantly, Bucky dressed and made his way to the elevator. He decided it must be serious. Tony rarely spoke to him. When he did, it was usually a direction meant to be given to him as part of the team. Talking didn't include a personal conversation. The closest they came to one was when Tony told him he could stay.

_"Take a room, stay out of my way, and I might not try to kill you," _Tony had told him. Bucky had thanked him to which Stark had responded, _"I'm not doing this for you."_

That was it. Tony didn't bother to say much about Steve to Bucky. The invitation to stay was the extent of the man's condolences. Of course, Bucky knew it was because Tony was mourning in his own way… dealing with his own guilt. Plus, he had Peter to worry about. The kid's world went to shit so fast that no one really had time to celebrate Peter's return... or anyone else's for that matter.

The only ones to really pay attention to Bucky's grief over the loss of Steve were Sam, Natasha, and Peter. T'Challa and Shuri were also kind, but they were rarely at the compound. Wakanda was their home.

Bucky sighed as the elevator stopped on Tony's floor, _"This could be interesting. Guess I'll find out what this is all about." _Bucky stepped out to find Pepper and Tony sitting on their couch. Pepper was wrapping a bandage around Tony's ribcage. "What happened?" he asked simply, hoping he sounded more concerned than curious.

Tony looked up at him, but he didn't say anything. Pepper spoke first, "There was a little… um… incident… in the lab."

"Incident?" Bucky asked, looking around. "Should we inform the others?" Bucky shuffled around on his feet a little. He was uncomfortable being here in Tony's space, especially without the others around.

"No." Tony said.

Bucky waited for him to say something else. He didn't. So, Bucky shuffled a little more and looked to Pepper for help.

"It's Peter," she told him.

"Is the kid alright?" Bucky asked, looking around to see if he was there somewhere. "Was he in the lab with you?"

"Oh… he was there alright," Tony told him.

Again, Bucky waited to hear more, but no further explanation was offered.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Tony!" she scolded. "I think YOU should let James know how he can help us."

"James?" Tony questioned, avoiding the real topic by focusing on his name. "That's not James… Rhodey is James! That's…" Tony thought for a moment, studying him.

"Please stop calling him Manchurian Candidate," Pepper pleaded.

"… Iceman!" Tony said, seeming as if he felt triumphant about the nickname.

Bucky just stared at him.

"See? His face is frozen! He always has the same look!" He looked at Bucky, "Is that from being frozen so many times, or is that your resting bitch face?"

"TONY!" Pepper scolded.

Bucky expected this sort of behavior from the man. He wasn't fazed by it. He was, however, concerned about Peter. "Where is Peter?" he asked, trying to sound patient. Bucky had no business giving Tony Stark a bad time. He was lucky the man didn't treat him worse. He was responsible for the death of Tony's parents. He couldn't forget that… no matter how much he wanted to.

Pepper gave Tony a look, and he finally gave in. He turned to Bucky and said, "He ran away."

Bucky's heart froze, filled with concern. "What? When? I thought you said he had been in the lab with you?"

Tony sighed, "He came looking for me in the lab. He was mad."

Bucky noticed how Tony struggled to find his words. He had thought it was mostly because he had to be talking to Bucky. But then he realized the real struggle. "Oh God…" Bucky said. "Did… did he do this to you?"

"He didn't mean it!" Tony defended. "He was just upset. He wasn't thinking about his strength."

Bucky noticed the bruising around Tony's neck and collarbone area, and it looked like his shirt had ripped near the collar as well. If Bucky had to guess, he'd say the kid grabbed him there and pushed him into something. "I know the kid well enough to know he wouldn't hurt you on purpose, Stark."

Tony scowled at him, "Damn right he wouldn't."

The two men stared at each other for a moment.

Pepper was tired of it. "Can you help us find him? Tony's in no shape to go, and I don't think Peter would talk to him right now. He seemed too ashamed of what he'd done. I think he would just run away again."

Bucky nodded, "Of course. I'm guessing we don't have any clues about where he went?"

"No," Tony admitted, looking completely defeated. "He jumped out of the lab window and took off."

"Okay." Bucky met Tony's eyes. "Listen… I know you don't usually trust me…"

Tony scoffed, "You got that right!"

"… but I appreciate that you are trusting me with this," Bucky said. "I know what he means to you. I'll bring him home."

Tony was quiet. He just nodded, acknowledging the statement.

Pepper spoke for him, "Thank you."

Bucky turned to leave, but then stopped. "I only have my motorcycle. I'm thinking the kid won't want to walk… or even swing back. I hate to ask…"

Tony smirked, "Take the kid's Prius, Iceman."

Bucky nodded, accepting the nickname. He knew it could be much worse. "Thanks… at least it's not a VW beetle," he commented, reflecting back to being stuck in the small car with Sam Wilson.

Tony and Pepper didn't bother to comment. They just let him leave, hopeful he would bring Peter back with him.

* * *

Pepper studied the worried expression on Tony's face. "I'm proud of you. I know that was hard," she said to him.

He looked at her, "That sucked! This all sucks!"

Pepper stroked his cheek, "You've been so strong through all of this, Tony. I think the others forget just how much weighs on your shoulders. I'm glad that you are letting Barnes help us. You don't have to take so much on by yourself."

Tony nodded, "I know… it's just… he's not Steve."

She rested her hand on his shoulder, "You miss him."

"I do," Tony admitted. "I got my friend back only to have him replaced by the man who…" Tony looked away, unable to finish the thought. "It's not fair, Pep. None of this has been fair. Traveling through the quantum realm and starting over was supposed to make it better." He looked at her and grabbed her hand. "We all weighed the odds. We thought this through. It was supposed to be better!"

She moved his hand to her bulging stomach, "It will be better, Tony." She then brought his hand to her lips and kissed it softly, "We all just need a little more time to heal."

Tony looked at her. "How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?" he asked. He then turned to look outside, thinking about Peter. "Will time heal this, Pepper? It seems like _time_ is what caused this in the first place."

She knew he was talking about Peter. "He loves you, Tony. He does. I think that's why he's hurting so much. He just doesn't understand what's happening right now. He's too young to be dealing with all of this. He needs you. Just… don't give up on him."

"Never," he said. "I'll never give up on him."

* * *

Peter had made it into town. He was sitting on top of the tallest building he could find, which happened to be a 24-hour food mart. The tired owner inside took pity on him and gave him some snacks and a slushy for free. That was pretty cool, but Peter was more excited about what some other guy gave to him.

Peter took a good long swig from the bottle of rum. He didn't care that it burned on the way down. The burn was good. He had hoped to feel something, but it seemed like his fast metabolism was making it hard for him to get drunk. He looked next to him, _"Good thing he gave me two bottles, then."_

Peter opened his slushy cup and poured some of the alcohol inside. He sat on the building so that his legs were swinging over the side. He looked a mess. His clothes were dirty and torn from swinging through the trees, his hair was a mess, and the scratches from the branches left some blood on his shirt. He couldn't be bothered to care, though. That didn't matter much to him.

He really didn't know what he was supposed to do. He missed May. He missed his friends. He missed his old life. He didn't care if the old one had led to his death. He didn't remember there being any pain when he was dead. Should he remember being dead? Did he remember being dead? Was his life different before?

Peter chugged the rest of his slushy and moved back to the bottle. He lifted it high in the air and emptied the contents. He threw the empty bottle off the building, enjoying the sound of it breaking down below. He thought perhaps he finally felt some effects of the alcohol. He felt a bit funny, although he supposed recent events could have him feeling the same way.

_"Timelines are so confusing," _Peter thought. _"What the hell is the point? Is the past I remember even real? What about the present? Does the present matter if someone can just go changing it again? How many times will I have to live in the present?"_

Yep… his head was definitely spinning. But Peter still wasn't convinced it was the alcohol.

_"I don't like living in this. This feels terrible. How do I even know that the future will be better? Maybe it was better when I was just dead." _Peter looked down towards the shattered bottle below, opening the next one. He was suddenly jealous of that bottle. No one would be worried about putting it back together. They would just let it go.

Peter took another long drink and stared out at the road. It was a small town, so there was really only one main road. Not many people were on the road this early in the morning. It was too quiet. Peter missed the noise of the city. Peter reached next to him and ate a few chips from the bag the owner gave to him. The sound of the crunch made him happy. Yep… he was definitely feeling something.

_"What would May think if she saw me like this?" _Peter thought. He didn't like the answer, so he pushed it down by taking another drink. He preferred to forget.

It was so strange. He could swear he saw his car pulling up to the food mart. _"May?" _Peter thought as he stared at the familiar car that had been his birthday present. _"Can't be… she's dead._" Peter took another sip, but continued to watch the car.

The vehicle parked, but he couldn't see the driver. The door opened.

"Bucky?" Peter said to himself. He giggled at the sight of the man pulling up to the food mart. "Maybe he licks th' slush's here."

Definitely getting a little drunk now.

Was he seeing things? Was Bucky even there? Or did people hallucinate when they got drunk?

Nope he was definitely there. He was staring up at Peter, and he looked less than thrilled.

Peter just gave him a wave and called, "Hey! Come up 'ere! 's nice up 'ere!"

The White Wolf shook his head and then seemed to be looking for a way to meet him on the roof. It didn't take too long.

"This is not the way to handle things, kid," Bucky told him.

Peter gave him a look and took another drink. "Wha' do ya mean? I got it *hiccup* handle. Mm fine."

Bucky carefully sat down next to him. He noticed the broken bottle down below. "I guess you started the party without me, huh?"

Peter looked at him with bleary eyes, "Mm s'ry. Wan some?"

Bucky smirked. "Definitely," he said.

Peter handed him the bottle.

"Thanks kid," he said.

Peter watched in dismay as he threw the bottle off the roof to join the other one down below. "HEY! Dere 's more! I was'n done wi' that!" Peter slurred out.

Bucky gave a small laugh, "Oops, sorry. I didn't notice."

Peter scowled at him and picked up his chips. He cradled them in his arms as if to keep them away from Bucky. Likely worried that they would get thrown off the roof, too.

Bucky looked down again. It wasn't too high up. Certainly not tall enough for Peter to cause himself any damage if he were to get any bad ideas about following after the bottles. He studied Peter for a moment, "What are we doing up here, Peter?"

Peter just continued to shove chips in his mouth and shrugged.

Bucky tried another question, "And why the hell do you look like Rocket attacked your face? You have scratches all over you!"

Peter let out a sudden laugh and shook his head. "Ha! Rock't! 's funny! Silly raccoon man *hiccup*"

"Seriously, Peter. What happened? Do I need to go after someone?" Bucky asked.

"Ha!" Peter laughed again. "Wanna chop dow' some trees?"

"What?" Bucky asked. The kid had clearly lost it.

"Trees 'ave claws, Buck" Peter whispered out, like he was telling the man something top secret. Peter shook his head a little. "Mm no' George. Can't swing f'om da trees."

Bucky didn't know who George was, but he suddenly got a clear picture of why Peter was so scratched up. "Damn, kid! Did you go webbing through the woods in the dark?!"

Peter blinked at him. "I di'n walk if tha's the quest'n."

Bucky shook his head and reached for a bag next to him. Peter hadn't even seen him bring it up with him.

Not much more was said as Bucky pulled out a first aid kid and used some butterfly bandages on some deeper looking cuts after cleaning them up a bit. He also pulled out a couple bottles of water, telling Peter that his head would thank him in the morning.

Peter wasn't really sure what that meant, but he drank the water anyway. The buzz was starting the leave him, making Peter curse his metabolism again. He looked over at Bucky, "Why 're you here?"

"Why do you think I'm here, Spider-Kid?" Bucky asked.

Peter was quiet a moment. He finally admitted, "I screwed up, Bucky. I screw'd up big time." His speech wasn't as slurred, but he wasn't really sober yet.

Bucky studied him carefully. "I know," he said.

Peter looked over at him. "You do? Di' Tony tell you?"

Bucky nodded.

"He's scar'd of me. He di'nt come."

"Would you have let him come?" Bucky asked.

"No," Peter answered.

"Exactly."

"Oh…"

It was quiet again. Bucky reached into the bag and pulled out a sweatshirt for Peter. "Here… it's cold. Put this on."

Peter was glad to see it had a zipper. He wasn't sure he had the strength or coordination to pull one on over his head at the moment. "Thanks, Gramps," Peter teased.

Bucky just smiled. They sat there for awhile longer in companionable silence. Peter was thankful that Bucky knew him well enough to know that he needed that. He didn't want to be forced to talk.

Peter didn't know how much time had gone by, but the sun was getting ready to rise.

"There's nothing out here for you, Peter. I know everything feels different, but I'd really like to get you back home. Things will be okay… trust me," Bucky told him.

Peter lowered his head, "I hurt him. I… I'm not sure I can go back. There's nothing there for me, either."

"That's not true, and you know it. Peter… I know it's hard. You lost so much, and you feel like you're alone. I've been there."

Peter looked at him, knowing Bucky understood loss and pain.

"But you still have family, Peter," Bucky told him. "The Avengers are your family. Apparently, they're mine now, too."

Peter swallowed hard, fighting tears, "Tony and Pepper could never want me in their family. Not anymore."

"You're kidding, right?" Bucky asked. "You do realize that Tony sent me… me of all people… to come find you? Kid, he never talks to me! You have to be important to him if he's willing to let me in his living room and ask for my help!"

Peter was stunned. It was true. Tony was not a fan of Bucky Barnes… and for good reason. Trusting him to find Peter was a pretty good sign.

Peter shook his head. "If only I could go back in time! I could warn May to get treatment earlier. Or maybe she wouldn't get sick at all! If I could do something sooner, then she would still be here!"

"Bargaining," Bucky stated.

"What?" Peter asked in confusion.

"The third stage of grief," Bucky told him.

"Oh… well… but this is true. I would trade anything to save May. I would give anything to stop her from suffering like that again!" Peter insisted.

Bucky looked thoughtful. "Would you give up your relationship with Tony?"

That caught him off guard, "What do you mean?"

"Trade anything. Give anything. Those were your words, kid. Would you pick May over Tony?" Bucky asked.

"That's a dumb question! I want them both!"

Bucky gave him a pointed look, "So… if you can't have them both, then you don't want either one?"

"That's not… I didn't say that!" Peter told him, feeling frustrated.

"Then why are you pushing Stark away?"

Score one for Bucky. That was a home run.

Peter had, in fact, pushed Tony away. He was blaming him for things that couldn't possibly be his fault. "I just want to go back and make it right! Why can't I do that?"

Bucky sighed. "It doesn't work that way. I mean… I know about as much as you when it comes to the whole… time travel thing. But… time is complicated. We are still learning and will continue to learn how the world was impacted by that."

Peter was quiet.

Bucky tried to make one more point. "And we have no proof that resetting the timeline led to her cancer. It may not even make things better to go back. It could just be worse."

Peter was crying now. He wanted so badly to believe that there could be a way. Or to believe that there was some explanation or reason for May's untimely death.

Bucky wrapped his human arm gently around Peter's shoulders. "I like to think that Steve is alive in some other timeline or some other version of reality. Based on some things Strange was telling me, I think it could be possible."

Peter sniffed a little and wiped a few tears from his face. "Yeah… maybe she's living happily with Uncle Ben in some other reality."

"Maybe she is…" Bucky agreed.

They were quiet again.

"I'm scared, Bucky," Peter admitted. "I'm scared to live in a world without May. A world where…" Peter's voice broke and more tears slipped down his face. "… a world where I could turn to dust and vanish away to nothing."

Bucky squeezed Peter a little tighter. "I'm scared, too. It's strange to think that I disappeared. But… listen. That is why the others went through all that they did! They made sure it couldn't happen again!"

"Did they?" Peter asked. "How can they be sure?"

The older man shrugged, "I guess we can't be sure of everything."

Peter let out another soft sob.

Bucky fought a few tears of his own. It was a sure sign that Hydra was really out of his head. He had felt nothing for so long.

"We can be sure of one thing," Bucky added.

Peter looked up at him with hopeful eyes, "What?"

"There will always be a team of heroes looking out for us. The best part is… that team is our family, kid. We are that team."

Peter looked thoughtful. "I don't feel like a hero right now. I feel like a wuss!"

"You are a hero," Bucky insisted. "You're just going through a rough patch. It happens to the best. Hell, I even saw Thor shedding some tears over this whole mess!"

"You really think I belong, Bucky?" Peter asked.

"Absolutely! If we go back to the compound, I even believe that Stark will tell you that himself!"

Peter finally smiled a little.

Bucky decided it was safe to tease him a little. "Now… can we go home? I'm not used to expressing this much emotion or talking this much in one night. Plus, I can't feel my ass anymore after sitting on this cold roof."

Peter chuckled a little and nodded. "Okay… let's go home."

He waited for Bucky to grab his bag. Before the man could think about how they might get down, Peter grabbed him and threw them both over the side.

"SHIT!" Bucky cursed.

Peter shot out a web and then carefully lowered them to the ground below.

"Don't you ever do that again!" he scolded Peter. "Give me a little warning next time! You do remember that I once fell to my death, right?"

Peter just shook his head and walked towards the car. "Except you didn't die. Come on, old man. Let's get moving. You're getting slow in your old age."

Bucky couldn't feel too annoyed. He was just relieved to have Peter joking again.

He just wasn't sure how long the kid's smile would last.

_"One step at a time, Barnes." _He thought to himself. _"Just get the kid back to the compound. We'll deal with all the different emotions back there. He just needs to be home."_

Bucky hopped into the car, checking to see that Peter was buckled. Satisfied that his young friend was safe, Bucky finally started the car and turned back towards the compound. He would likely be giving up on any more thought of sleep for himself. But Peter looked exhausted. Bucky decided it would be a miracle if the kid was awake by the time they were back.

_"I really hope there are no more surprises," _he thought. But, of course, there were always surprises. And very few of them were ever pleasant.

* * *

**A/N: Drunk Peter is fun to write. What surprises will they all deal with next? Stay with me to find out. And please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Marvel owns them. I'm just borrowing them again.**

Chapter 4: May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

Tony wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't for Peter to come back reeking of alcohol. Barnes was practically dragging the kid into the building, not because he appeared to be drunk… more exhausted than anything else.

"What the hell, Iceman? You take my kid to a biker bar and let him get in a fight with a paper shredder or something?" Tony accused, although his voice sounded more concerned than angry.

"Mmm…damn trees," Peter mumbled. His eyes were unfocused, and he was clearly not fully awake.

Bucky grumbled under the weight of the heavy teenager, "Wanna give me hand? I only have one good arm, you know."

Tony frowned at him, but went over to get on the other side of Peter. His ribs protested a little with the added weight, but he ignored it. He absently wondered if Barnes considered his metal arm or human arm to be the good one. He brushed that thought away, and asked, "What did he mean by trees?"

Barnes let out a short laugh as they half walked, half dragged the tired teenager into the elevator. "Peter decided to play Tarzan in the woods on his way into that town nearby."

Once on the elevator, he took a closer look at Peter. His shirt was torn and dirty, and he had several scratches on his face and arms. He also noticed that some of the deeper scratches were cleaned and bandaged.

Tony looked over at Barnes, who carefully met his eyes. Nothing was said, but Tony was pretty sure the other man got the message of gratitude that was held there. All things considered, Peter was okay. Barnes had, in fact, succeeded in bringing Peter home.

Tony once again glanced at the kid. "Where?" He asked Barnes, knowing he didn't have to say much for him to understand the information he was looking for.

"I found him on the roof of a mini mart in town. Somehow the kid managed to get his hands on snacks and… a couple bottles of rum," Bucky told him, hesitating with the last part.

Peter's head suddenly shot up, "But why is the rum gone?" His voice was lowered a little as he attempted to mimic the voice of Captain Jack Sparrow. Tony was pretty sure it was from one of those pirate movies they watched together a few times.

He noticed that Barnes looked confused. "Pete likes to make movie references…" he clarified. "… you'll get used to it."

Bucky shrugged, "I don't know much about films these days."

Tony thought about teasing him for referring to them as "films," but he decided that he had other things to worry about… mainly Peter.

Peter's head was once again sagging down on his chest. Tony even thought it sounded like the kid was snoring a little… like he had actually fallen asleep while standing. He wouldn't be surprised; the kid had to be exhausted.

The elevator arrived on the floor to the Avenger's rooms. By now, it was past five in the morning. When the elevator doors opened, they looked out to find Natasha and Sam Wilson up and preparing some breakfast, likely before getting in some early exercises. Bucky and Tony just stared out at them, holding Peter carefully between the two of them. Natasha and Sam stared back, clearly surprised by the sight of _these two men _together with the kid.

Sam spoke first, "I don't know how I expected my morning to go, but I certainly didn't expect to see…" he waved a hand at the trio, "… whatever the hell this is."

Tony just gave the man an annoyed look as he and Bucky pulled Peter forward.

Natasha came forward, looking at Peter with concern. She wrinkled her nose a little, likely noticing the smell of alcohol. "Is he alright?" she asked. "Looks like he got in a fight with a wood chipper."

"He'd like to chip the wood for sure," Tony commented. "He tried to do some late-night swinging through the trees."

Natasha shook her head, "Ouch."

"Mmm…" Peter lifted his weary head at the sound of the Black Widow's voice. "Hey, Tash! Did I wake you? 'm s'rry."

"It's morning, kiddo. I'm already up," she told him.

Peter turned his head toward the window, noticing just now that the sun was up. "Oh. C'n I 'ave some breakfast?" He asked, blinking heavily and barely keeping his eyes open.

"I think it's best if you sleep first, Pete," Tony told him.

"m'kay," he nodded.

Tony nodded at Bucky and they began to move Peter towards his room. Tony let Bucky take Peter's full weight as he stepped ahead to open the door to his room. Tony couldn't believe the difference as he looked at Peter now. Earlier, he looked fierce and frightening, but now he looked like a small and helpless kid again.

Bucky practically carried Peter over to the futon, where the kid collapsed and was snoring before his head was even all the way down. Tony grabbed a blanket and covered Peter while Bucky grabbed a pillow for under his head.

Tony hated that the kid wasn't cleaned up. He didn't look too comfortable, but he supposed that an uncomfortable sleep was better than no sleep at all. Quietly, he nodded his head towards the door and the men exited.

Once in the hallway, Tony finally felt like he could breathe again. Peter was back. He was safe. He was calm. He was sleeping. They would be able to sort out the rest later.

Tony turned to leave and found that, once again, Natasha and Sam were staring.

"I'm seeing it," Sam commented, shaking his head. "But I'm still not believing it."

He felt Barnes tense next to him, waiting perhaps for Tony to make some smart comment or put him down. Natasha was studying them both, observing their behavior. Perhaps she was trying to assess how likely they were to strike out at each other.

For whatever reason, Tony found himself thinking about Steve in that moment. Perhaps it was because it was this same group of people who helped to save Peter's life with Steve before. These were the people who stood beside Rogers and understood his point of view when Tony couldn't. Barnes was Steve's best friend and he had, once again, helped bring Peter to safety.

With this in mind, Tony did something that perhaps no one expected. He turned to Barnes and gave a sincere, "Thank you." However, he wasn't worried about sticking around to hear a response. Instead he made his way back to the elevator, wanting to give Pepper an update.

Once on the elevator, Tony turned to see the Avengers gaping at him. "What?" he asked, "I _can_ be amiable, you know." But as the doors slid closed, he added, "Even to grumpy old men!"

Natasha, Bucky, and Sam just stared after him. Bucky stood in stunned silence for a moment. Natasha then noticed a small smile on the former Winter Soldier's face as he said, "Takes one to know one, old man." Sam and Natasha couldn't help but to smile at the retort, even if Tony wasn't there to hear it. They watched as Bucky turned towards his own room, likely hoping to rest a little.

Sam was again shaking his head. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at Natasha, "Damn! I wish Cap had been here to see that."

Natasha gave him a sad smile, "Me too, Sam. Me too."

* * *

**_Hours later_**

Peter woke with a groan. He blinked his eyes a few times and looked around. He was back on the damn futon again, but this time it was still set up as a couch as opposed to a bed. He had been covered by a blanket and found that there was a pillow beneath his head.

Peter stared at the pillow, noticing that it looked dirty. _"Strange,"_ he thought. He rubbed a hand through hair and winced a little. He felt something hard stuck in his curls and grabbed a hold of it. He was a little surprised to find a piece of twig in his hair. _"What happened?" _

Peter went to stand up, but was met by a pounding headache that forced him to sit back down.

"Ow!" Peter groaned, rubbing at his head. This only caused him to wince more when he rubbed his hand over a cut. "What the…?"

And then it all came rushing back to him.

The lab… Tony… jumping out the window… swinging through the trees… the roof… rum… Bucky… Tony and Bucky taking him to his room.

The last one caused him to stop for a moment. He couldn't be remembering that part correctly. That must have been a dream. Tony and Bucky didn't really do anything together.

Peter scrubbed his hand over his face, being more careful of the cuts this time. He thought he also recalled seeing or hearing Sam and Natasha somewhere in there. He groaned again, deciding the alcohol had been a bad idea, and looked at the clock.

_"Holy shit!" _Peter thought. He looked outside and saw that it was light out. _"It's 3:00 in the afternoon. How long did I sleep?"_

Carefully, he pulled himself up and went into the bathroom. When he turned on the light, he squeezed his eyes shut and leaned on the sink. He took a few deep breaths to fight the dizziness and nausea before opening his eyes and looking in the mirror.

He really wished he hadn't looked. He looked like crap.

Peter carefully brought a hand to his face to inspect the cuts there. He started to pull away the butterfly bandages since even the deepest cuts were already healing. His face was dirty, and he could see very clear tear tracks through the dirt that was there. His hair was an absolute atrocity, and there were dark circles beneath red-rimmed eyes.

Looking down, he could see that he was still wearing part of the suit from May's funeral the day before. However, his clothes were torn up and wrinkled.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself. He knew he had been acting recklessly, but this seemed ridiculous. He was suddenly hit by a wave of nausea and dove for the toilet. He retched and gagged, bringing up the snacks that he vaguely remembered eating on that rooftop. Once he finished gagging and spitting into the toilet bowl, he carefully turned around and sat on the floor. He sighed. "Good job, Peter. You really did a bang-up job this time," he scolded himself.

He took a few deep breaths before his eyes shot open, "Oh my god! Tony!" He had attacked Tony. He had been so angry that it led to him threatening someone he loved. And for what? Information about time travel? Peter scrubbed his hands over his face again, feeling completely ashamed. This time he didn't care about rubbing over the scratches there. He deserved the discomfort. There was a moment when he thought he might get sick again, especially when he recalled Tony's pained face as he had pushed him into the wall.

In hindsight, his actions had been completely stupid. What was he going to do? Try to use time travel as a way to find the cure for cancer? "So stupid!" Peter growled out.

Tears formed in his eyes again. He seemed to be crying a lot lately. Tears of sadness, tears of anger, tears of pain, and now… tears of guilt and shame.

Peter pulled himself to his feet. He needed to apologize to Tony. Although, upon seeing his reflection again, he decided he would get cleaned up and changed first. Once in the shower, Peter stood under the hot water, relishing the feeling as it soothed his aching muscles. He really needed to sleep in his bed and stop going out on late night escapades through the woods.

It felt like he was scrubbing at his skin and cleaning his hair multiple times before he felt clean. He realized, however, it was partly his behavior that had him feeling so dirty. With a reluctant sigh, Peter finally turned off the shower. Stepping out, he felt much better about his appearance. The hot shower had returned some color to his face, making the dark circles beneath his eyes less noticeable. He grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist, and began looking for some clothes.

He settled on some sweatpants and a science t-shirt that said, "Forget lab safety. I want Super Powers." Ned bought it for him as a joke, also claiming that it would throw people off if they ever became suspicious. After pulling on some sneakers, Peter exited the room to face things once and for all. He was on his own this time… May couldn't help him out of this mess.

Peter slowly opened the door and poked his head into the hallway. Everything seemed quiet, so he assumed the team was scattered around the compound training or something. He sighed in relief and walked towards the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and stared at the contents inside. With so many members of the team living at the compound, it was fully stocked. For some reason, nothing appealed to him. Endless options and Peter still couldn't decide on something to eat.

"I'd go for the muffins, personally," A voice behind him said.

"SHIT!" Peter yelped in surprise, letting the refrigerator door close. What good were his spidey senses if he could walk right by someone without even knowing they were there? He turned around to find Clint Barton staring at him. The man was nestled so deeply into his chair that Peter didn't even notice him. "Clint? Hey… I didn't realize you were still here."

Barton had come in for May's funeral with his family. He spent most of his week with his family on their farm, but he committed to spending at least two days a week at the compound. He even brought his family along sometimes. The Barton's got along with Peter and May almost immediately. Sure, Clint teased him about choosing the wrong side in Germany, but that didn't last long. Like most of the other Avengers, Clint warmed up to Peter quickly.

"Laura took the kids back home, but I thought I would stick around a little longer," Clint told him. He raised an eyebrow, "Barnes tells me you're trying to be Tarzan now, huh? I got to tell you Spidey, playing Tarzan and getting lit are probably not a great combination." Clint was teasing, but Peter was pretty sure he heard some underlying concern in the man's voice.

Peter huffed in annoyance, "Does everyone know?"

Clint shrugged, "I can't be sure. Nat told me when we were sparing this morning. It's just too bad I missed the part where Stark and Barnes were tucking you into bed!" Clint laughed out loud at the last part.

"I thought maybe I imagined that part," Peter admitted. "It just seemed too weird."

"Ha! Weird is right!" Clint told him.

Peter sat down at the counter and took a muffin from the pastry dish, recalling as he did so the first time he ate one. It had been right after May had driven him to the compound and punched Tony right in the face. Peter couldn't help but to laugh at the memory.

Barton came up next to him, setting down the book he had been reading in his chair. Peter was more than a little amused to see that Hawkeye was reading _The Hunger Games_. If Tony found out, he would call him Katniss for sure! "You laughing at my reading selection, Spidey? I'll have you know that my daughter, Lila, is obsessed with these books. Reading these together is just something that we do. Plus, it makes her want to learn to shoot a bow, so… yeah, I'm a fan," Clint told him.

"No… I mean… yeah, I found that a little funny," Peter admitted. "But I was just laughing about the first time I had one of these muffins."

"What's so funny about a blueberry muffin?"

"It wasn't the muffin. It was the fact that I was only here that day because May drove us up here intent on punching Mr. Stark right in the face!" Peter laughed again at the memory… at least until he remembered that she was gone.

"Ha! She told Laura about that," Clint said. "I'm pretty sure that's why my wife liked May so much."

Peter didn't miss the use of the past tense as Clint referred to May. He swallowed what remained of the muffin, but he didn't move to get anything else. For some reason, he just felt stuck to that spot.

Clint studied him for a long moment. The man was a father of three, so he knew his way around kids. He understood that Peter was far from being okay. It was part of the reason he had stuck around a little longer. He felt like he would need to write out an instruction manual on taking care of kids for Tony.

"With a metabolism like yours, you must need some more to eat, Spidey."

Peter just looked at him and shrugged. "I know… I just can't make up my mind."

Clint wasn't an idiot. He knew Peter was really saying that he lost his appetite. He saw the moment that the happy memories of May faded into sadness. The pain was written all over Peter's face. It was a good thing Hawkeye knew how to get kids to eat… whether they wanted to or not.

"Lucky for you, I was just getting ready to make something," Clint said, moving over towards the fridge. He pulled out some eggs, cheese, and vegetables. "I'm thinking… omelets. How does that sound?" Clint also knew that Peter needed plenty of protein and veggies, so omelets seemed like a good choice.

Peter's stomach growled in response, making the teenager blush a little. "Um… yeah. That sounds good, thanks."

Not much more was said as Clint made the food. Hawkeye actually had some pretty good skills in the kitchen, and Peter couldn't help but to smile at the man's antics as he flipped the omelets in the pan.

Before long, Clint had two plates sitting on the counter. One for each of them. When they were sitting, Clint did most of the talking. He told Peter stories about his kids, and teased Peter a little by telling him about Lila's huge crush on him. "But don't tell her I told you that," Clint warned. "I will most definitely deny that I ever said a word."

Peter finished the last bite of his omelet and said, "I wouldn't dare to cross you."

"They always said you were smart, kid! Guess it's true after all." Clint pushed the plate with his barely touched omelet over to Peter, "Here… I can't finish mine."

"Mmm… thanks!" Peter said, digging in eagerly. "I guess I was hungrier than I thought."

Clint smiled and stood to get the kid more water. He then proceeded to start cleaning up a little.

Peter gave Barton a suspicious look as he took his last bite of the second omelet, "Wait a minute… you…" Peter squinted his eyes at him, "you never really intended to eat anything, did you?"

Hawkeye just smiled and shrugged, "I'll never tell."

Peter quickly finished and gulped down his water, "Wait… I should clean up!"

Clint shook his head, "Normally, I would take you up on that offer, but there's actually something else that you need to do."

"What's that?" Peter asked, feeling confused.

Barton set the plates in the dishwasher and then put both hands on the counter, directly in front of Peter. He leaned forward so that he was looking Peter right in the eyes, "You need to talk to Stark sometime, kid."

Peter visibly paled, "I… um… yeah, well… I just need to…"

"Mm Hm… Nope!" Clint interrupted. "Gotta face the music sometime, kid. Trust me… it'll only be harder if you wait."

"Do you even know what I did?" Peter asked.

Clint gave him a look as he continued to put things away, "I saw the lab, and I saw Tony. I put the pieces together. I'm pretty damn smart, too, you know!"

Peter put his head in hands and groaned, "I'm such an asshole."

Clint laughed a little at that, "No… you just _acted_ like one. It doesn't mean you _are_ one. Trust me… Stark has acted like one on more than a few occasions. You'll be fine."

Peter looked back up at him.

"Go on!" Clint insisted.

Peter sighed and got up. "Thanks for the food, Katniss!" he teased.

Clint just laughed, "May the odds be ever in your favor, Spidey!"

Peter gave a small smile and went for elevator, reluctantly pushing the button for the floor to Tony and Pepper's apartment.

* * *

Pepper had insisted that Tony get some rest after the events of the morning. He had trouble getting settled, so Pepper had decided to put on a boring movie. She settled the two of them onto their coach with a comfortable blanket. She had pulled Tony's head into her lap, rubbing her fingers through his hair. It didn't take long before he was snoring softly. She had then turned off the TV, put back her head, and managed to get some more sleep as well.

They had stayed like that until about noon. Normally, Tony would insist on going down to lab. However, the man made no moves to go back there, and Pepper knew him well enough to know that he was avoiding the memories of that space for the time being.

Instead, the two of them enjoyed some rare one-on-one time together. They bustled around their apartment, keeping busy with little things like organizing their closets and drawers. They talked about the baby and possible names, and they debated on which room would become the nursery. The time together was pleasant, and it provided a welcome distraction for Tony.

"Do you think we should get one of those round cribs?" Tony asked her. "They look so fancy!"

Pepper laughed, "Fancy, huh? When it comes to our baby, I was thinking that I would prefer practical and safe over fancy."

"Good call, hon! Safety definitely needs to come first." Tony looked thoughtful for a moment, "How badly do you think Barton would tease me if I asked him for parenting advice? I mean... the Hawk has three little chicks to look after. Surely, he can share a few helpful tips."

Pepper laughed a little harder. "I'm sure he would be too surprised that you were actually asking him for advice in the first place!"

Tony smiled. He pulled out a StarkPad and was scrolling through baby furniture, pulling up holograms for anything that looked interesting.

Pepper watched him for a moment. She had been looking for the right time to bring up another subject, and now seemed as good time as any. "Tony... I was thinking..." she hesitated a moment. "We're going to have two kids, really. Our baby is one, but... we also have Peter to think about."

Tony lowered his StarkPad and looked at her, "I know that." His words were defensive, and he seemed uncertain about where the conversation was going.

"It's just... I wonder if we should invite Peter to live up here with us? He seems so far away living with the other Avengers. He might like being closer to the baby when he or she arrives, too," Pepper explained.

Tony smiled, and Pepper caught him looking over towards the picture that Peter had given him for Christmas. "That would be nice, but I think it should be his choice. We could ask him, I guess," Tony shrugged. He added, "He'll need to get that anger of his under control first, though."

"Oh! You've got that right!" Pepper agreed, sounding determined. She softened then, "He just misses May. The past 6 months haven't been easy on him."

"I know... although, it's not like our time has been a walk in the park!" Tony spit out.

Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know you're hurting, too, Tony. We just need to give it time."

"I'm so sick of _time_!" Tony told her.

She nodded in agreement and decided to change the topic a little. "I was also thinking that we should consider getting an apartment in the city again."

"What?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised. "Why?"

"For Peter," Pepper explained. "I know he's been taking classes virtually over the past few months, but I think it would be good for him to be closer to his friends again. Going back to his school and getting into his old routine would be good for him."

"You're already an amazing mother, Pep," Tony told her. "You're right... I should have considered that. We can ask him about that, too."

Pepper walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "And you're an amazing father, Tony. You're just too hard on yourself."

Tony leaned forward so that his forehead was leaning on Pepper's. "Whatever would I do without you?"

She smiled and for old time's sake, she asked, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" (Of course, the words now were another way to say, "I love you").

Tony smiled, "That'll be all, Miss Potts." ("I love you, too").

They enjoyed the moment a little longer before FRIDAY interrupted. "Excuse me, Boss. But you wanted to know if Peter Parker left his floor. I thought you should know that he is on the move."

Tony visibly paled a bit, "Where's he going, FRI?"

The AI answered, "He's coming up to your floor now."

Tony looked at Pepper, and she didn't miss the anxiety that was written all over his face.

"It'll be fine, Tony. I'll be right here. You got this."

The elevator made a noise to indicate that someone had arrived, and Tony braced himself for the serious conversation he would need to have with his kid.

* * *

**A/N: There you go! A little fatherly Hawkeye for you! There will be a little more character building in the chapters ahead before a new problem is introduced. Stay with me to find out what poor Peter and Tony will have to deal with next. And don't forget that reviews = love! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: The previous chapters were meant to lighten the mood a bit. This chapter returns to the serious side of things. Tony and Pepper will give it their best shot, but Peter isn't going to be ready for everything they have to say. **

**Marvel still owns them.**

* * *

Chapter 5: One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

Peter braced himself as the elevator arrived on Tony and Pepper's floor. As the doors opened, he shoved his hands into his pockets, lowered his head, and stepped forward.

He made his way into their living room, keeping his eyes on the floor. He wasn't quite ready to look at them yet. _"Who talks first?" _Peter thought. _"Do I talk first? What the hell do I say? I'm sorry I almost killed you?"_

The room was quiet. Too quiet.

Was that a pin dropping? Peter was pretty sure he heard a pin drop.

Luckily, Tony decided to break the unbearable silence.

"I had no idea our floor was so interesting. Pepper… did you know our floor was so interesting?" Tony commented. "Pete can't seem to look away from it. They're Brazilian walnut in case you were wondering."

Peter just shuffled uncomfortably.

"Tony…" Pepper warning, giving him a look.

Peter could tell she was trying to get him to be serious. After all… this was VERY serious.

"I… uh…" Peter grasped for the right words, but nothing really seemed _right_. Not after what he did was so _wrong_.

There was more silence for a moment, but Peter could hear someone walking over to him. He continued to keep his head down. He couldn't look at Tony or Pepper. Why couldn't he look at them?

Someone was standing right in front of him, and he could tell by the shoes that it was Tony. It took every ounce of strength he had not to turn and run away again. Clint was right. He had to face the music some time.

"Look at me, Peter," Tony said.

Peter took a deep breath and pressed his hands further into his pockets. If his hands were in his pockets, then he couldn't use them to hurt anyone. Very slowly… he lifted his head up towards Tony.

First, he saw Tony's jeans, then he saw his blue t-shirt, and he blinked away tears as he noticed the bruises that could be seen beneath the collar. Peter paused, fixated on those bruises and hating himself for each one.

"Almost there, kid," Tony encouraged. "I need you to look me in the eyes."

Peter's breathing grew quick and shallow. His anxiety was building, and he was sure that he would see anger and disappointment in Tony's eyes. He couldn't bear to see that. Maybe it wasn't too late to make a run for it.

As if Tony sensed Peter's urge to run, he placed a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder to steady him. "Please, Pete," Tony tried again. "Look at me."

Peter swallowed past a lump in his throat and finally met Tony's eyes. He was expecting to see anger. He was not expecting… what was it?

Amusement? Why did Tony look to be somewhat amused?

"Yay! You did it!" Tony pretended to cheer, but his voice wasn't too loud. And Peter could still see a hint of hurt in his mentor's eyes.

Peter knew he should say something, but words were lost to him at the moment. He just continued to shove his hands in his pockets and shuffle his feet in discomfort. He also shifted his eyes to finally look at Pepper. She was sitting on their couch with a worried look on her face. He wasn't sure if she was worried about him, or worried that he would hurt Tony again. He suspected, perhaps, it was a little bit of both.

Tony gently squeezed Peter's shoulder, reminding him that the hand was still there at all. He then used his hand to usher Peter forward, "Why don't we sit down? I could sit down…" Tony gave Peter a small smile, "You should probably sit down, too, huh? That head of yours must be pounding after those early morning escapades of yours."

Peter had started to move forward, but froze when Tony said the last part. He shook his head and started to take a step back. "I can't do this," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

As he was attempting to turn back, Pepper called to him, "I'm sorry, Peter. Don't go!"

That made him stop, and he turned his head to look at her. "You're sorry?" He furrowed his brows in confusion, "Why in the world would you be sorry?"

Tony stepped forward and gently took hold of his arm, "Come on and sit down… give us a chance to talk to you, okay?"

This time, Peter let Tony walk him over to the couch. It was a big sectional. Tony sat with Pepper on one side and he sat on the other side. He was on the edge of his seat, ready to get up and leave if he needed. Peter looked at his new guardians. "Why did you apologize, Pepper?" His voice was full of guilt. "I'm the one who needs to apologize."

Pepper cleared her throat and gave him a pointed look. "You're not wrong…" she said, indicating that he certainly did need to apologize. "… But I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I panicked."

Peter nodded in understanding, but then shook his head a little. "No… I deserved it." He finally looked at Tony again. "I am so sorry," he voice cracked and he found himself suddenly choking on tears. "Tony… I…" He was shaking his head, "I j-just… I don't know… it all happened so fast!"

Tony raised his eyebrows at that. "You're telling me! I'm still not entirely sure I know what happened down there!"

Peter brought his hands up to his face in shame and cried harder. As he cried, he continued to mutter, "I'm sorry. God… I'm so sorry."

Before long, Peter felt the couch shift. He moved his hands away from his face to find that Pepper and Tony had moved to sit on either side of him. Pepper put a hand on Peter's knee, and Tony wrapped his arm around Peter's back. Peter turned to lean into Tony, but stopped as the man let out a groan of discomfort. Peter quickly sat back up and stared at Tony with wide eyes, "Oh shit… I'm sorry!" Peter looked towards Tony's ribs. "How bad is it?"

Tony shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position. "Nothing's broken, Pete. I'll be fine."

"Just tell me… I need to know!" Peter insisted.

Pepper was the one to tell him, "Helen looked at him earlier. She thinks they're mostly bruised, but at least one is cracked."

Peter lowered his head and pulled at his hair. "I can't believe I did that. I don't even…" Peter looked from Pepper to Tony. "It was like…" he shrugged. "… I don't know… it was like someone else was in control of my body. I wasn't thinking." He locked eyes with Tony. "I sh-should never have a-attacked you like that." His words stuttered out as he fought to keep control of his breathing and refrain from crying more than he already was.

"It surprised the hell out of me," Tony admitted. "I won't lie to you, kid. It also scared the shit out of me! I wasn't really sure what to do to help you."

"Help me?" Peter asked in confusion.

"I know you, Pete. You're not normally like that. I knew you weren't yourself, and I knew you would never truly want to hurt me. I was scared because I knew you would never forgive yourself if something happened," Tony's eyes grew misty. "You've been through so much. Too much! Way more than any kid your age should go through! I didn't want to be the cause of any more pain for you, Peter." Tony lowered his head, "No more so than I already am. I just… I didn't know what to say."

Peter was quiet, reflecting on Tony's words. He decided it was time for him to be completely honest. "I hated the funeral. I hated everything about it because everything became so real! I remember my parent's funeral, you know. One of the few memories I have of them is their stupid funeral! And then there was Uncle Ben's funeral… May had looked so lost that day." Peter shook his head at the memory. "Yesterday… it was me… I was the one who felt completely lost." He looked into Tony's eyes again, "They all left me, Mr. Stark." The tears were pouring from his eyes now. "All of them! They all left me!"

Tony didn't say anything. He knew that, if he did, he would break down sobbing himself because he knew that feeling all too well. Instead, he just pulled Peter into arms and cradled him. He didn't even care about his aching ribs. He just pulled the kid into his chest and let him cry. Pepper leaned over and laid her head on Peter's shoulders, attempting to provide further comfort.

They stayed that way for a few moments before Peter pulled himself back into a sitting position and attempted to wipe some tears from his face. "That's why I was just… so stupid! I was convinced that I could pull her back, you know? Break the curse. I thought for sure that I could set things back, but…" he was shaking his head again, "… but I realize now that was a terrible idea. I wouldn't even know how to get that to work!"

Tony swiped a few of his own tears away. "I wish I could tell you how it all works, Peter. It's just… I hardly understand all of it myself." Tony gave him a look. "Which is REALLY hard for me to admit, by the way."

Peter couldn't help but to smile at that a little.

"Plus… I just… I have NO IDEA how things in this timeline have changed! And something that we all understood was that we couldn't make traveling through time a habit. It's dangerous for so many reasons… obviously," Tony admitted.

Peter looked thoughtful, "So… you don't think May was sick before?"

"There's no way to be sure!" Pepper defended, clearly worried that things would escalate if Peter still believed the new timeline led to May's illness.

Tony sighed, "I went to see her after you…" Tony couldn't finish that sentence. He didn't need to, either. The others knew what he meant. "She didn't seem to being doing well, but no one was! The world was falling apart, and I thought she was grieving like the rest of us! I don't know if it could have been something else."

"Did you see her 6 months after I… well… after I disappeared?" Peter tried again. He figured if she died 6 months after his return that she would have died 6 months after his disappearance in the other timeline.

This made Tony take a moment to think. "I'm going to be honest with you, kid. I'm not sure. While it took us three years to fix things, there was already a lot of time jumping happening in those years. We were working hard and staying busy. I know I saw her at least one other time. I kept promising her that I would get you home." Tony squinted his eyes as he focused on his memories. "I remember that she wasn't looking well, but… again… no one was looking that healthy. The world was struggling to pull itself together and the healthcare system had gone to shit!"

Peter frowned, "You didn't bring her here to keep an eye on her?" A hint of anger returned to Peter's voice. "You left her alone?"

"Not exactly. I offered to bring her here when I first saw her, but she refused. She told me she wanted to stay in Queens." Tony paused for a moment, looking sheepish. "She was pissed at me, Peter. She yelled and even tried to take another swing at me."

Peter smirked at the image of his aunt trying to punch Tony again. He understood what she had likely been thinking, "She blamed you for me following you into space, didn't she?"

"Oh yeah! Big time!" Tony admitted.

"It wouldn't have changed anything. I wouldn't have survived here, either," Peter said.

Tony nodded, "True… but she would've had a chance to see you one more time. I didn't blame her for being mad at me, Peter. I knew she was grieving." Peter sensed that Tony's words had a double meaning. _"I don't blame you for being mad at me, Peter. I knew you were grieving."_

Peter laughed wryly, "Ha! I guess grieving Parkers are a bit dangerous."

"Clearly…" Pepper commented. Her voice wasn't angry. She was just letting him know that she and Tony were well aware of that little family trait.

Peter took a moment to think, "So… she refused to come here? And you lost touch with her?"

"More or less," Tony admitted. "I had Happy stay in touch with her and check in."

Peter looked hopeful for a moment, "I could ask him if he…" And then he remembered that Happy hadn't traveled through time.

Tony finished the thought. "I'm afraid he won't remember. I'm sorry…"

Peter scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed, "So… she could've been sick in both timelines. I was bound to lose her. It's the Parker curse… sooner or later it will take me, too."

Tony visibly paled at that statement, "Um… I vote for later… much, much later! May would want that, too! It's my job to take care of you now. It was last promise I ever made to her, and I plan to keep it!"

"I made that promise, too!" Pepper chimed in. "You're not alone, sweetheart. Tony and I are still here."

"Pepper's right. No amount of your super strength could ever push us away," Tony added.

Peter shook his head, looking forlorn, "Then the Parker curse will take you. Everyone leaves me."

"We aren't Parkers!" Pepper defended. "We're Starks!"

Tony gave her a look. "Starks don't exactly have the best track record, either, Pep."

She shot a look right back that clearly told him those were the wrong words to say.

Peter just shrugged, "It's not the names. It's clearly me. I'm cursed."

"Stop it!" Pepper tried again, hugging him a little. "It might feel that way, but you aren't cursed. You'll see."

Peter nodded. "Yeah… we'll see," he said ominously. Somehow any hope that Peter had for the future was slipping away. He felt empty… completely drained. There was a hole where his heart should be, and he had never felt so sad. _"Depression," _Peter thought. _"The fourth stage of grief. That's just great."_

Tony immediately sensed the change in Peter's demeanor. "Listen, Pete. I know… I know that you will be sad and that there is a tough road ahead. I've been down that road a few times myself."

Peter just looked at him. He was no longer crying. He just looked numb.

"But we need to come to an understanding, okay?" Tony said.

Peter just gave a subtle nod. He wasn't necessarily agreeing to anything. It was more like he was giving Tony permission to continue with his terms.

Tony looked at Pepper, and she gave him a supportive smile. "First of all, you need to let yourself feel things, okay? But… we need to find you a healthier outlet. Especially for that anger. No more throwing and breaking things!"

"That includes Iron Man," Pepper added. Tony and Peter shot her a look. "What? I think that's a fair point!"

Tony sighed, "No throwing or breaking _any _of the Avengers!" Tony smirked, "I will, however, look the other way when it comes to some of those so-called 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' Mainly Quill."

Peter shook his head and said, "I won't throw or break _anything _or _anyone_. I got it. What's next?"

"Secondly…" Tony thought for a moment as he was clearly making this up as he went. "… you will talk to us. Even if it's just to say that you don't know how you're feeling. You can't shut us out or push us away!"

"What if I don't feel like talking? What if I just want to be alone sometimes?" Peter asked.

Pepper answered for him, "It's fine if you need to be alone sometimes, sweetheart. We just ask that you let us help you. We don't want you to feel like you _have _to be alone. Let us remind you that you still have people who love you!"

"I'll try," Peter told them.

"That's all we ask, kid," Tony said. "And lastly… you let us help you get into a healthy routine."

"Healthy routine? What does that mean?" Peter asked.

Tony gave him a look, "For starters… it means no running off at the ass early hours of the morning! It means no shredding up yourself by webbing through trees in the dark! And it most DEFINITELY means no more getting drunk! I don't particularly like asking Barnes to drag you home, either."

"Sorry about that," Peter said, blushing a little out of embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had actually done those things. He couldn't help but ask, "Did you and Bucky really tuck me into bed last night? Together?"

Tony stared at Peter in annoyance, "No." He blinked. "Technically… it was this morning when we _dragged and dropped_ you into bed. It was a two-man effort, and it WILL NOT happen again."

Both Peter and Pepper attempted not to laugh. Both failed.

"I get it," Peter said. "No more late night or early morning drunkenness. Anything else?"

"Yes… how would you feel about going back to school? We thought it might be good for you to be around your friends again," Pepper chimed in.

Peter frowned a little, "I don't know. I don't mind doing my work virtually, and it's a pretty long drive to get to my school from here at the compound."

"How would you feel about moving back to the city?" Tony asked.

Peter lit up at the idea, "Really? But then his face fell, "But… we don't have the apartment in Queens anymore. We didn't renew our lease when May got really bad. We put everything in storage and came up here."

Pepper offered him a smile, "We could get a new apartment." She brought her hands to her belly. "One with room for all of us!"

"Pepper's right, Pete," Tony told him. "We'll get settled in a new apartment where we can help you establish a routine again. Somewhere that isn't too far from Midtown Tech."

A lot of different thoughts were going through Peter's mind. "I don't know," he admitted.

"We'll still spend time here, so you'll still see the other Avengers. You'll still be able to train here," Tony added.

"We even thought it might be nice to move you up to our floor when we're here…" Pepper said. "… if that is something you would like."

For some reason, Peter felt agitated. "So what? We'd be like a happy little family?"

Tony and Pepper looked at each other, feeling uncertain. "If you'd like that…" Pepper tried.

"Like that?" The agitation grew. He wasn't really sure why, but it did. "What were those conditions? A healthy outlet? Sure… I'll go find Cap's old punching bags. What's next?" Peter asked himself. "Oh yeah… talk to you and tell you what I'm feeling. Sure… I'm feeling like I'm expected to replace May now. I feel like I'm just supposed to accept a new home and a new family. I mean… seriously? We just buried May yesterday… _yesterday_! And then what? A healthy routine? Sure… I'll just get back to life like nothing ever happened. No problem!"

Tony and Pepper were silent. They had absolutely no idea what to say, and they were pretty sure that anything they said right now would be the wrong thing. It felt like they had just taken one step forward and two steps back.

Peter shook his head and jumped up off the couch, stepping away from the adults.

Tony stood up gingerly, careful not to stand too fast. He held up his hands in an attempt to placate Peter's growing frustration. "We hear you, Peter. Nothing needs to be decided today."

"Wow… really? No decisions today? How generous of you, Mr. Stark!" Peter took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to get back some control on his emotions. He opened his eyes to see Tony and Pepper's hurt and confused faces watching him. "Shit! I… I don't mean to be such a jackass. It's just…" Peter sighed, feeling deflated.

"…You need time to think," Tony finished for him.

"That's okay, Peter," Pepper added.

"Exactly… I just need to think." Peter didn't stick around to hear more. He made his way over to the elevator, wanting to escape back to his room. As he waited for the elevator doors to open, he heard Tony call to him.

"Peter?"

"What?" he snapped.

"I… uh… just thought you should know… or I wanted to give you the option…" Tony fumbled over his words a bit. "Rhodes asked to meet with the Team around 7:00 pm. You're welcome to be there. We'll have pizza, too." The last point about pizza was somewhat of a desperate attempt to appeal to the teenager and get him to come.

Peter felt like a jerk. "Maybe," he said.

"That's fine. You can… think about it," Tony offered.

Peter stepped inside the elevator and turned to him. "Sure… I'll add it to the list of things to think about."

With that, the doors closed and Peter was on his way back to his room.

Tony rubbed a tired hand over his face and looked at Pepper. "That…" he sighed. "... could've gone better."

He went back and sat next to Pepper, who rubbed his aching back gently. "It could've been worse."

"It sure didn't end well," Tony told her.

"True…" She admitted. "But I still feel like we made some progress. We'll give him some space to think for now. Maybe he just wants a little more time to be alone to do that thinking."

Tony nodded and asked, "How much space do we let him take before we need to worry?"

Pepper shrugged, "I don't know. This is my first time with a grieving super-powered teenager, too."

"Right," Tony sighed. "Someone really ought to write instruction manuals to deal with these kids."

Pepper smirked and playfully swatted his arm, attempting to lighten the mood. "You don't read instruction manuals anyway. What good would that do?"

"You make a fair point, my dear. I guess I'll have to do what I always do, and make it up as I go along."

"I'm pretty sure that's what most parents do, anyway," Pepper told him.

Tony just leaned back and nodded in agreement. No more was said. They just enjoyed one another's company as they each reflected on their own thoughts.

* * *

Peter was so confused. He felt like he was on a roller coaster. It was a horrible non-stop ride. He couldn't believe how quickly his emotions had shifted. He had finally been feeling better, but it just suddenly all felt _wrong_ again.

He was glad to see that none of the Avengers were around when he arrived on his floor. He practically ran to his room, and he let out a relieved breath once his door was closed behind him.

He didn't really feel like attending the meeting later. Instead, he went over to his desk and decided to take care of some school work. He opened his computer and let himself get lost in math and science. He was safe in the world of numbers, formulas, and calculations. This was familiar territory.

Peter opened up his bottom drawer and took out some snacks. He was intent to stay there and work for quite a while.

It was just too bad that Peter would decide to skip the meeting. He would wish later that he had paid more attention to some of the current Avenger business.

**A/N: And the devastation and hurt continues. What is Peter missing at the meeting? And just how much will he regret not being there? You'll find out... eventually. Stay with me, my friends. We've only just begun!**

**And, of course, please leave me some reviews :) I try to respond whenever I can. **

**To my reviewer, GalaxyNifflers... Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I wasn't able to send you a message, but I sincerely appreciate your encouragement. I hope you like where the story goes next. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here's another chapter to send you into the weekend. The end of the chapter will hint at some of the trouble on the horizon, but I'm not ready to give everything away just yet. We'll continue to see some of Peter's journey through grief. I'm working up to a significant moment between Peter and Tony, but it will be a slow build. I'm a counselor, so I don't like when stories gloss over how difficult the process of grief can be. Plus... we're going to learn that Peter is harboring even more pain beneath the surface. Pain that may or may not be directly related to May's death. **

**Also, I am going to try writing a little bit of every character. However, I cannot guarantee that each team member will have a one-on-one moment with Peter. There are some relationships that I want to focus on more than others. I really only like to write moments that make sense in the overall story-line. However, please let me know if you have any requests. If there is a character you REALLY want to see connecting with Peter, I will try to make it fit as best as I can. **

**I wish I could claim these characters, but they still belong to Marvel. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: I Get by With a Little Help from My Friends

Tony was more than a little concerned. It had been over 2 weeks since he and Pepper talked to Peter about going back to school and possibly moving. Since then, Peter had grown quiet. The kid had definitely gone into survival mode, only doing what was necessary to get through each day. He continued to do his studies online, and he was doing quite well with that work based on the progress reports that came from the school.

Principal Morita had been very understanding of the whole situation. He was aware that Tony and Pepper were taking over as Peter's guardians as a result of May's death. Tony was even surprised to learn that the principal was the grandson to one of the Howling Commandos, the men who fought alongside of Steve Rogers during World War II. It was for this reason, that the principal was willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Morita felt as though it would honor his grandfather's relationship with the First Avenger if he cooperated with another Avenger. Whatever the man's motivation, Tony was just grateful that he didn't make things harder for Peter. He didn't, however, know about Peter's identity as Spider-Man. For now, that secret was safe.

While Peter was doing surprising well at keeping up with his schoolwork, it was the lack of engagement in other areas that worried Tony. Peter did not go out as Spider-Man, and he rarely showed any interest in training with the others. The closest thing he did to training was to use Steve's old punching bags. Peter had followed through on his plan to use the bags as an outlet for his anger. Tony didn't really mind that Peter used them; however, he was concerned about _when_ Peter used them. FRIDAY had informed him that Peter frequently visited the gym and training area in the middle of the night, when he should be sleeping.

Peter seemed to be keeping odd hours. He didn't seem to sleep at night, and he would just stay in his room and nap at various times throughout the day. He did make sure to eat, but he seemed to avoid eating at times when he was likely to run into the others.

When Tony confronted him about things, Peter claimed to be following the guidelines Tony had set. While he did have an outlet for his anger, Tony didn't really think that Peter was talking to him about his feelings or keeping a healthy routine. Peter, of course, claimed that he was trying, and Tony wasn't looking to pick a fight with him. His aunt's death was still fresh, and Tony was trying to give him the space he needed.

He just felt like Peter was isolating himself for too long now. So, he had decided to invite Ned up to the compound as a surprise. He wasn't really sure if the "surprise" part of the plan was the best idea, but he was more afraid that Peter might refuse to see his best friend if he asked.

Happy had, reluctantly, played chauffeur to the young man, and Tony greeted Ned as soon as he arrived.

Ned excitedly stepped out of the car and walked towards Tony, "Hi, Mr. Stark! It's so nice to see you! Thanks for inviting me! I am so stoked to see Peter. I have so much to tell him! He won't believe who Flash is dating!" As always, Ned's words rattled out quickly, and it made Tony miss the days when Peter would ramble on just like him. Ned looked around a little, seeming confused. "Where is Peter? I thought he would come out to meet me, too."

Tony wrapped an arm around Ned and walked him inside, not failing to notice how excited the kid became by the contact with one of his heroes. "Here's the thing, Ned," Tony told him. "This is more of a surprise visit."

Ned froze and stopped walking. "Peter doesn't know that I'm here? No wonder his texts to me seemed weird earlier."

Tony turned to him. "Did you say anything about coming?"

Ned shook his head, "Not directly. I was just telling him that we should build the new Star Wars Podracer set. It's part of the 20th Anniversary edition for Star Wars Legos, and I thought he would be stoked to put it together. So… yeah… I thought it was weird when he said we'd find a chance to put it together sometime… you know… because I was coming over today."

Tony nodded in understanding. "Did you bring it with you?"

Ned nodded enthusiastically. "Totally. Plus… like… five other new sets!"

"Good," Tony commented. "Let's hope this works." He ushered Ned forward again.

The young man looked confused, "What works?"

Tony led the teenage boy onto the elevator and pressed the button for Peter's floor. He looked at Ned and sighed, "He's not doing too well, kid. I haven't really been able to get him out of his room. He just hides away and mostly works on his schoolwork. When he's not doing that, he just sleeps. Clint suggested that he might need someone his own age, so…"

Ned gave Tony a sad smile. "So… you had Mr. Happy come and get me." Ned shifted a little, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "Mr. Stark, what if… what if he doesn't want to see me?"

Tony turned his own worried eyes to look at him, "He has to see you. If he doesn't, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do next."

Ned studied the older man carefully. "Are _you_ alright, sir? I can't imagine what this must be like for you."

As the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Tony turned and attempted a confident smile before saying, "I'm always alright." He then stepped off the elevator and motioned for Ned to follow.

Ned did not fail to notice that Tony's words didn't really match the sad and worried look on his face. He didn't get to think on that for too long, though. Because he noticed that they were not alone when they stepped into the sitting area off the elevator. "Holy shit!" Ned whispered in amazement.

Sitting in front of him were most members of the Avengers. Natasha, Bruce, Rhodes, Sam, Vision, Wanda, and Bucky lived at the compound regularly, so they were all there. Joining them were also Clint, Thor, Scott, Hope, and Stephen Strange. The only ones really missing were Carol Danvers and the Guardians, who were off doing something out in the cosmos somewhere. Still, it was pretty much a full house, and Tony was suddenly realizing that today may not have been the best day to bring Ned up here.

The kid brought a hand up and held it over his heart. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…" he breathed out quickly. "I can't believe Peter lives here with you guys! This is SO AWESOME!"

"We don't really live here," Scott said awkwardly, pointing between himself and Hope. "We're still a bit new around here."

Hope smiled, "I prefer to stay close to my parents… and Scott just can't seem to leave me alone."

Thor smiled widely in greeting, "Welcome! It is nice to see that Peter has a Midguardian friend that is kind enough to visit him during his time of sorrow."

"You alright, kid?" Clint asked. "You're not, like, gonna pass out on us or anything, are you?"

Ned just continued to stare with wide eyes. It was like he was afraid to blink or something. Maybe he thought they might somehow disappear if he closed his eyes for even the briefest of moments.

"Leave him alone, Clint." Natasha scolded. "You idiots are a lot to take in."

"Hey!" Sam whined. "I know you are _not_ putting me in that idiot category!"

"I'd never dream of it," she answered sarcastically.

Ned finally seemed to get up the courage to speak to them directly. "W-what are you all doing here, then?" His face grew excited. "Is there a mission? Are you all going on a mission? Can I stay back and be your guy in the chair?"

"Guy in the _what_?" Bucky asked, looking at Sam. "Is that some 21st century thing that I don't know about yet?" Sam just shook his head and shrugged.

"I'm sorry… I'm confused," Dr. Strange said, looking at Ned. "Who exactly are you?"

Ned didn't have to say anything. Wanda answered first, "Isn't it obvious? He's clearly a friend of Peter's."

"This young man appears to overwhelmed," Vision added. "Perhaps it would be best if we moved back down the command center."

"You don't have to do that!" Ned said quickly.

Rhodes chuckled at Ned. "Good to see you, kid. I'm glad you're here. I think Peter could use the company. We're actually here to take care of some other business. We took a break in hopes that we might catch Peter when he came out for food or something."

"What other business?" Ned asked, hoping to get a clue about what they were working on.

"Trust us…" Bruce spoke up. "… you don't really want to know. It'll just give you a headache." As he finished the last sentence, he rubbed as his own head as if to say he was fighting a headache of his own.

"Oh…" Ned said. He continued to stare at the team, clearly uncertain of what to say or do. He wished he could find someway to impress them. His eyes grew wide as he seemed to come up with an idea. "Well… if you all ever need help with computers, I'm totally your guy! I even helped Peter hack into Mr. Stark's stuff!"

Tony just rolled his eyes, knowing full well that Ned was responsible for hacking into the systems he installed into Peter's Spider-Man suit.

The Avengers laughed a little, and shared a few responses of surprise. "Seriously?" and "No way!" and "That's hilarious!" were just a few things that could be heard.

"Perhaps we should listen to the child," Thor said, looking thoughtful.

"Absolutely not!" Strange interjected. "It's bad enough that one teenager is involved with all of this."

Bucky grew defensive, "Hey! Peter isn't just your average teenager, doc!"

Natasha stood. "Okay… I think this means that our break is officially over. We tried to catch Peter, but I think it's safe to hand him off to Ned."

"The Black Widow knows my name," Ned whispered in amazement.

"Hold it together, kid," Tony told him.

Rhodes stood to join Natasha. "I agree with Natasha. We still have a lot of… things… to discuss."

"It appears we have overstayed our welcome," Vision commented to Wanda.

"It's okay, Vis," she told him. "Our break was long enough."

"We shall resume our task!" Thor said enthusiastically.

"Let's just get on with it already," Bucky commented, following the other Avengers out of the sitting area.

Clint stayed back and approached Tony and Ned. "Hawkeye," Ned said in reverence as the man approached. Clint just gave him a confident smile.

"I guess you took my advice, huh?" Clint asked Tony. He looked at Ned, "Peter must be excited to see you. No wonder he was avoiding us! He must be waiting for you!"

Ned shuffled on his feet a little and cast a nervous glance at Tony. "Umm… actually, Mr. Hawkeye, sir… my visit is, like… a surprise."

Clint's eyebrows shot up, "Tony! You didn't even tell Peter that his friend was coming!"

Tony looked a little sheepish and shuffled on his feet in a way that wasn't too different from Ned. "I thought he might like the surprise."

Clint just shook his head. "Bold move. I know I said that Peter might like to see his friends, but I thought you might run it by him first."

Tony shrugged, "It's kinda hard to talk to Pete these days. Besides, Ned here isn't just any friend. He's more like a brother to Peter. It'll be fine."

Clint wasn't sure if Tony was trying to convince him or if he was trying to convince himself. "Sure… well, good luck, kid!" He looked at Tony. "You know where to find us if you need anything." With that, he went off to join the rest of the team.

"That had to be the best moment of my entire life!" Ned stated, seeming to be a bit stunned by the encounter.

"Yeah, well… as Pete's best friend you were bound to meet them all sooner or later," Tony told him.

"Badass…" Ned mused.

Tony just smiled. "How about we see what Pete's doing?"

Ned looked a little nervous, but he nodded and followed Tony towards Peter's room.

* * *

Peter was sitting on a chair in his room, staring up at the ceiling and lazily tossing a stress ball into the air and catching it again. Pepper had given the ball to him in hopes that it might help in some small way. It didn't, but he still appreciated the gesture. He wasn't really sure how long he had been sitting there. He was surrounded by food wrappers and empty water bottles. There was dirty laundry piled everywhere, and he hadn't felt like taking a shower in days.

He had been struggling with nightmares ever since he first learned about the new timeline. The nightmares had only intensified since May's death. Some of the nightmares were about being trapped in space. Other nightmares involved May. His most recent one had him swinging around Queens as Spider-Man. He had spotted May walking down below, so he called out to her. However, no matter how hard he tried to get her attention, she just kept walking. He tried to swing after her and catch up to her, but she was always out of reach. No matter what he did, she just seemed to move away again… never turning around or acknowledging his presence. That nightmare had definitely been a brutal reminder of how she would never turn her brown eyes to him or smile at him ever again.

Afterwards, he had gotten up and done a few push-ups and sit-ups. He even flipped off his walls, trying to work off the agitation that had been brought on by the dream. He debated about going down to the gym, but it was the wrong time of day. Too many of the others were likely to see him, and he didn't want to have to answer any questions. He was _so tired_ of all of the questions. They always wanted to know how he was or what he was feeling. It was exhausting!

Or maybe he was just literally exhausted. With all of the nightmares, Peter didn't really know how much sleep he was getting. He just took naps here and there between submitting homework and assignments.

As he was tossing the ball and thinking about taking another nap, there was a knock on his door. Peter grabbed the ball out of the air and looked over at the door. He didn't move to get up, though. He had heard the voice of the team out in the lounge area earlier, and he figured that one of them finally decided to try to coax him out of his room. He stayed quiet, hoping that they would just go away if he didn't answer.

But they just knocked louder.

Peter groaned, "What? Who is it?"

He heard voices whispering on the other side before someone finally answered. "Um… Hey Peter. Think I could come in?"

Peter frowned in confusion. _"Ned? What is Ned doing here?" _He stood up from his chair and finally walked over to the door, but he didn't open it. _"Maybe I heard wrong. It couldn't be him."_

"Peter?" Ned's voice called again.

"Ned?" He finally called in response.

He could almost hear the relief in his friend's voice as he said, "Yeah… it's me. Could you open your door?"

Peter looked down at what he was wearing and glanced around his room. He was more than a little embarrassed to let his friend see him like this. "Uh… what are you doing here?" He wasn't really trying to be rude. He was just really surprised. It wasn't like Ned to drop by unannounced. Unless…

"Let the poor kid in, Peter. He's like a lost puppy out here," Tony called to him.

Of course. Leave it to Tony to ambush him with one of his friends. Peter scrubbed a hand of his face and reluctantly unlocked and opened his door.

Both Ned and Tony made faces when they saw him.

"Woah…" Tony said, leaning back and scrunching up his face. "That's… um… quite the scent you're rocking there, kiddo."

Ned wrinkled his nose a little, too; however, Peter thought he was trying to be a little more polite about it. "Uh… Hey, Peter! I guess I should have given you some more warning, you know? Maybe given you a chance to… um… get ready?"

"Clean up…" Tony corrected. "He means he should've given you a chance to shower and clean up a bit. Wow… how long has it been, Pete?"

Peter wasn't really in the mood to be criticized about his hygiene. He made a face at them and began shutting his door in their faces.

"Wait!" Ned cried out, sticking his foot in the door. "I have the new Star Wars Lego Sets! The Boba Fett Slave 1 Starship has a ton of pieces!"

Peter halted his action of shutting the door and looked at his friend. "How many pieces?" he asked.

"1,007!" Ned answered in excitement.

Peter took a moment to think, clearly interested. He gave his friend a small smile and opened the door for Ned to enter.

"You won't regret this!" Ned told him. "It's going to be so cool!"

Peter let Ned enter his room. He didn't really watch Ned's face as he entered because he was pretty sure his friend would just be worried based on the condition of the room.

Tony stayed out in the hallway but leaned in to look around. He locked eyes with Peter and attempted a smile, "Sorry, kid. If you didn't want to see or talk to me, I thought you might like some other company instead." He nodded his head in Ned's direction. "Plus, your friend was getting to be a little lost without you."

Peter turned towards Ned to see him clearing away some trash that was on floor in an attempt to make room for the lego sets that he was pulling out of his backpack. Peter blushed and turned back to Tony. "It's fine, I guess. But… I should probably help Ned clean up and make room for the legos."

Tony looked pleased, likely happy that he wasn't going to chase Ned away. "Sounds good." He gave Peter a pointed look, "You may want to… um… clean yourself up, too."

Peter blushed a little more and began forcing his door closed. "Goodbye, Tony!"

"Love you!" The man called, surprising Peter a little. It had sounded like it was said in a way that was meant to be a gentle tease. It was said as something to remind him that Tony wasn't trying to be too critical. He clearly just wanted Peter to know that he cared. He probably should have said something in return… something to let Tony know that he cared about him, too. But… he just couldn't bring himself to say anything out loud.

Peter turned around to find Ned studying him. But his friend quickly went back to his task as if he was hoping that Peter hadn't seen his close inspection.

"So… which one do you want to build first? We could start small and do the Podracer, or we can go straight for the Starship!" Ned tried.

Peter didn't answer. Instead, he moved over and opened a window. He knew his friend would appreciate it if he let some fresh air into the room. "Sorry, dude! I should've… I mean… it's not usually this messy, but…"

"It's fine, Peter," Ned said. His eyes were sincere and full of concern. "I don't care about any of that! I'm just happy to see you. It hasn't been the same without you, dude!"

Peter offered him a small smile. "Thanks, man. I really did miss you!"

Ned just smiled back at him. He could always count on his best friend to see the best parts of him.

Peter quickly grabbed a trash can and started stuffing food wrappers inside as he made his way over towards the adjoining bathroom. "Um… why don't you make yourself comfortable. I think I'm just going to get a shower quick."

"No problem," Ned told him. "Peter… you're my best friend and I need to be completely honest with you, dude…"

Peter stopped and looked at him.

"…I would really appreciate it if you got that shower." Ned's smile grew, knowing that Peter would understand that the teasing was all in good fun.

Peter rolled his eyes, but smiled at his friend. "Shut up!" he said, moving over to the bathroom and walking inside.

As he was shutting the door, he heard Ned call out, "And take your time! Scrub every nook and cranny!"

Peter smiled a little more as he turned on the water and began to get undressed. Seeing Ned really did help to lift his spirits. His best friend might be the only one to help him feel normal again.

* * *

Tony was relieved. At first, he was afraid that Peter wasn't even going to open the door for Ned. The poor kid looked so nervous standing there, too. In hindsight, it probably would have crushed Ned if that whole thing had backfired. Then he would have had to deal with two heartbroken teenage boys. He let out a sigh of relief, _"Thank god that actually worked!" _He did, however, feel a little guilty about subjecting poor Ned to Peter in _that_ condition. For his sake, he hoped Peter would finally get cleaned up.

As he made his way down to join the others in the command center, he also made a decision to send up some of the cleaning staff later. That room was long overdue for trash pickup, laundry, and most likely clean sheets.

The Avengers looked up at him as he entered.

"How'd it go?" Clint asked.

"Ned's in," Tony told him. "Although, I feel a little bad for leaving the poor kid with Peter right now."

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked, concerned.

"I have no idea when Peter showered last!" Tony stated. "That kid was RIPE!"

The others laughed a little and shook their heads.

"Hey man!" Sam said, looking at Bucky. "Guess we dodged that bullet, huh?"

Bucky shrugged, "Yeah… it's probably good we didn't see Peter earlier."

"I do not think I would be able to notice such things," Vision stated. As an android, he wasn't impacted by things quite like the others.

"Then perhaps we can send you to fetch him in the future," Thor teased. The others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah…" Tony told them. "It happens to the best of us. The kid hasn't really been sleeping well. He probably didn't even realize how much time had gone by since his last shower."

It was quiet. No one really knew how to respond. The situation with Peter was still so heartbreaking. They all loved the kid, and they hated that they couldn't do more to help him. Of course, he would have to _let_ them help him first.

"Ahem… anyway… how are we doing down here?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

"It's a lot to figure out, Tony," Bruce told him. "Computers all over the world experienced glitches and malfunctions. I can't believe we didn't do something about this sooner. We should've known this would happen!"

"We've got war criminals who were released on a technicality because evidence files went missing, top secret encrypted files that were suddenly decoded, some files disappeared, and others seemed to appear out of nowhere!" Natasha told him.

Stephen Strange stepped forward, "The interrupted timeline was virtually unnoticeable for humans, but computers…"

Bucky shook his head, "The world was better off when everything was on paper!"

"Tell that to the trees," Hope commented.

"Is Tree here?" Thor asked, misunderstanding the comment.

"His name is Groot!" Rhodes corrected. "She meant…"

"Can we focus, please?" Bruce asked impatiently. "We may have nuclear codes to worry about!"

"According to my calculations, someone would have acted by now if access to nuclear codes had been obtained," Vision explained.

"Okay… let's prioritize. Did anyone talk to T'Challa? Is their vibranium still secure? Did it seem like any of their files were corrupted or impacted in any way?" Tony asked.

Bucky shook his head, "I talked to Shuri. She said something about their technology being safe and unaffected compared to the antiquated stuff used by the rest of the world… or something like that."

"That's great. I'm glad we had Grandpa Barnes talk to the Wakandans about the state of their 21st century technology stuff. That was good thinking," he reprimanded jokingly. "Anyone else have anything?"

"We don't need to worry about Wakanda," Natasha said, knowing T'Challa had a handle on it.

"I'm more worried about government files. We didn't know about some of these inconsistencies simply because people weren't looking at some of the files right away. However, red flags have gone up in CIA and NSA databases. Some of it is related to weapons and terrorists," Rhodes commented.

"Anyone or anything particularly dangerous?" Tony asked.

"Possibly Hydra," Bruce admitted, making Bucky visibly flinch.

"There's some project that seems to be connected to area 51, too. It may be nothing, but some video files we found seem more than a little off," Rhodes added.

"Tic Tac and Honey Bee were talking about checking into the area 51 situation, but I'm thinking maybe I should go with them," Sam said.

"It's Wasp!" Hope corrected, slightly annoyed.

Tony shook his head, "You'd probably draw more attention. Scott and Hope are probably the best bet for getting in and out of there undetected. Wanda and Vision… It might be good to have you two on standby in case that situation goes wrong. I doubt they could stop either one of you if things were to get messy."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Sam, Thor, and Strange could look into the Hydra situation. We should make sure all of their old bases are still vacant. You guys can all travel around easily; get in and get out without much issue," Tony said. "It would probably be good to have Bruce and Barnes on backup for that one." He gave Bucky a look, "If you think you're ready for that?"

Bucky nodded, "If Hydra is up and running somewhere, it will be my sincere pleasure to take them down."

"What about us?" Clint asked, motioning between himself and Natasha.

"I'll need your help with the comms and transportation. You both could probably help with either mission, so it's your choice," Tony responded.

"Iron Man would sure be a help looking into those old Hydra bases," Natasha said.

Tony shook his head, "I made a promise. I'm retired. I'll keep an eye on what's happening from here. You'll each have access to FRIDAY through your comms."

"I can do it," Rhodes said. "War Machine isn't so different from Iron Man."

Tony smiled, "You just stole a suit and renamed it!" He looked at his friend and grew more serious. "Are you sure, Rhodey? I thought you were having some more pain lately?" he asked, referring to his friend's old injury.

"I'll be fine. I want to help," Rhodes said. "Besides…there may not even be anything there."

"Let's hope not," Tony said. He clapped his hands together, "Okay! Sounds like we have our teams coming together. Now all we have to do is make a plan. Let's do this, shall we?"

With that, they all started working on their mission plans. They all missed Steve's leadership, but the man taught them a lot during his time with the team. They would make him proud. Tony knew it was only the beginning. There would be a lot of leads to follow. Some were likely to be a dead end, but they still had to be sure. They had reset the timeline and caused the computer systems to glitch. It was their responsibility to ensure that the world was safe.

As the team worked, Tony sat back and let his mind drift to Peter, Pepper, and his unborn child. They were his world. He just hoped that he could keep them safe, too.

* * *

**A/N: So... is it a Hydra problem or an alien problem? Or is there another problem that the team is missing? How will this all affect Peter as he tries to get his life put back together? **

**As always, reviews = love.**


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